Success! A Slippery Concept

Dear lovely people,

Just like John McCarthy, “When I see a slippery slope, my instinct is to build a terrace.” I “Preach” success, my pleasure lies in working for success and helping others along that path but trust me, in as much as success is good, excellent and encouraged, it could be slippery grounds. Join me as we build a terrace together.

One fact is that thousands of books, workshops, courses and entire industries have risen up to serve this master – success and still it remains one of our most elusive goals, like trying to hold onto sand. Dr. O. A. Battista says “You have reached the pinnacle of success as soon as you become uninterested in money, compliments, or publicity.” Unfortunately, just the opposite often happens when something we have done is praised and rewarded. A humble heart can quickly become a swelled head.

One strange thing I have observed around me is that it is very easy to experience the blessings of God and forget how much we really need Him. When God’s grace allows us to have money in the bank, and things are going really well in life, it is so easy to forget important underpinning Christian values. After all, why would we need God when we have all of our needs met? Beware good people of having that kind of mentality in your heart. Oh, we would never say that we have no need of The Lord, but deep inside, there is that danger of forsaking The Lord with passion because His material blessings have removed the urgency of our real need for Him.

Just before Saul was anointed king, he saw himself as a member of an insignificant family in the smallest tribe of Israel (1 Sam. 9:21). Within a few years, however, he had erected a monument in his own honor and had become the supreme authority for his conduct (15:11-12). The prophet Samuel confronted Saul for his disobedience to God by reminding him, “When you were little in your own eyes, were you not head of the tribes of Israel? And did not the Lord anoint you king over Israel?” (v.17).

The truth is that, self-importance is the first step down the slippery slope of what we call success. It begins when we claim credit for God-given victories and modify His commands to suit our desires. True success is staying on God’s path by following His Word and giving Him praise instead of craving it for ourselves.

Thomas Peterffy warns “Never bend the rules. You bend the rules a little bit and then it's a slippery slope.”