God, and Handling Success

[newton3005]

God, and Handling Success

How does God expect us to handle our success in a gainful endeavor? Is your success totally your doing? Do you need God as much as others, once you’ve achieved the level of success you’ve strived for? Is that all there is?

Your success may be a function of your talents, but they in turn are a function of the gifts you received from God. Psalm 139:14 says, “I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well.” No natter the degree of your success, to the extent of your belief in God you are part of His orchestration. You have responded well to His calling.

God promised in Deuteronomy 28:1...5, “..if you faithfully obey the voice of the LORD your God, being careful to do all his commandments that I command you today...all these blessings shall come upon you and overtake you, if you obey the voice of the LORD your God. Blessed shall you be in the city, and blessed shall you be in the field. Blessed shall be the fruit of your womb and the fruit of your ground and the fruit of your cattle, the increase of your herds and the young of your flock. Blessed shall be your basket and your kneading bowl. Blessed shall you be when you come in, and blessed shall you be when you go out.” Lord Jesus simplified the 400 some-odd laws that God gave to Moses, into two...that we love god with all our heart, soul and mind and we love our neighbor as we love our self.

So you have become successful with God’s blessing. Does that mean you are better than others? All it means is that you’re different than some. A garbageman has as much value to society as a prosperous businessman, in that society needs both. And if a garbageman wants to be a prosperous businessman, he will do so with God’s Blessing if he Loves God and his neighbor. You may have gifts that God gave you, that you may not realize you have, until you are put to the test.

With your success, God calls upon you to help the poor and needy. Those who help the least among us can expect to be in God’s House. 1 Peter 5:2-4 says, “...shepherd the flock of God that is among you, exercising oversight, not under compulsion, but willingly, as God would have you; NOT FOR SHAMEFUL GAIN, but eagerly; not domineering over those in your charge, but being examples to the flock. And when the chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the unfading crown of glory.

And to be sure, there is gain that is shameful and gain that isn’t. Gain that is shameful is that which is gained through deception and at duping others out of what they have. Gain that is according to God’s Purpose is that which you have earned by the sweat of your brow.

If you’ve reached as high as you can go, is that all there is? Having reached the top, you may want to consider putting your hand out to pull others up with you, by sharing your experience toward becoming successful. And, as God said there will always be the poor, there are enough poor to go around for you share your experience with and give them encouragement. As God in Genesis commands us to be fruitful, it is not His desire that the poor remain poor.

God does expect us to make arrangements to distribute our wealth so we will have an easier time getting into His House than it would be to pull a camel through the eye of a needle.

Beyond that, we should keep in mind God’s plans for us and His grand plan. As Romans 8:28 says, under God, everything works together for good, for those according to His Purpose. And under God, nobody is better than anyone else since we are all acting out our parts in the grand scheme of things and we are all subject to His Grace. In that regard, it is better to be humble than proud.

 

[SkyWriting]

God, and Handling Success
Your success may be a function of your talents, but they in turn are a function of the gifts you received from God. Psalm 139:14 says, “I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well.” No natter the degree of your success, to the extent of your belief in God you are part of His orchestration. You have responded well to His calling.

God promised in Deuteronomy 28:1...5, “..if you faithfully obey the voice of the LORD your God, being careful to do all his commandments that I command you today...all these blessings shall come upon you and overtake you, if you obey the voice of the LORD your God. Blessed shall you be in the city, and blessed shall you be in the field. Blessed shall be the fruit of your womb and the fruit of your ground and the fruit of your cattle, the increase of your herds and the young of your flock. Blessed shall be your basket and your kneading bowl. Blessed shall you be when you come in, and blessed shall you be when you go out.” Lord Jesus simplified the 400 some-odd laws that God gave to Moses, into two...that we love god with all our heart, soul and mind and we love our neighbor as we love our self.

So you have become successful with God’s blessing. Does that mean you are better than others? All it means is that you’re different than some. A garbageman has as much value to society as a prosperous businessman, in that society needs both. And if a garbageman wants to be a prosperous businessman, he will do so with God’s Blessing if he Loves God and his neighbor. You may have gifts that God gave you, that you may not realize you have, until you are put to the test.

With your success, God calls upon you to help the poor and needy. Those who help the least among us can expect to be in God’s House. 1 Peter 5:2-4 says, “...shepherd the flock of God that is among you, exercising oversight, not under compulsion, but willingly, as God would have you; NOT FOR SHAMEFUL GAIN, but eagerly; not domineering over those in your charge, but being examples to the flock. And when the chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the unfading crown of glory.

And to be sure, there is gain that is shameful and gain that isn’t. Gain that is shameful is that which is gained through deception and at duping others out of what they have. Gain that is according to God’s Purpose is that which you have earned by the sweat of your brow.

If you’ve reached as high as you can go, is that all there is? Having reached the top, you may want to consider putting your hand out to pull others up with you, by sharing your experience toward becoming successful. And, as God said there will always be the poor, there are enough poor to go around for you share your experience with and give them encouragement. As God in Genesis commands us to be fruitful, it is not His desire that the poor remain poor.

God does expect us to make arrangements to distribute our wealth so we will have an easier time getting into His House than it would be to pull a camel through the eye of a needle.

Beyond that, we should keep in mind God’s plans for us and His grand plan. As Romans 8:28 says, under God, everything works together for good, for those according to His Purpose. And under God, nobody is better than anyone else since we are all acting out our parts in the grand scheme of things and we are all subject to His Grace. In that regard, it is better to be humble than proud.

What was the question again?

 

[ZNP]

God, and Handling Success

How does God expect us to handle our success in a gainful endeavor? Is your success totally your doing? Do you need God as much as others, once you’ve achieved the level of success you’ve strived for? Is that all there is?

By success do you mean a perfect work, lacking nothing? James says "let the brother of low degree rejoice in that he is exalted but the rich in that he is made low". If you are referring to money then you need to be aware that "as the flower of the grass it will pass away". You need to find something eternal, a work of faith.

Or by success do you mean you have received the crown of life which the Lord has promised to them that endure temptation, just like Paul said "henceforth there is a crown" that he would receive.

If you are involved in a work of faith, a work of righteousness, if this work is visiting orphans and widows in their affliction and is unspotted by the world, then rejoice. Count it all joy.

 

[Dororih]

Hi,

Thanks for this thread. I am new and I hope my reply is in the right place.

What about handling success with regards to how you treat others? For example:

- I feel that I've been through a lot, and I have matured, built a resilience, and made God/my parents proud. Now, when I see people who cannot take suffering, I sometimes view them as weak/spoiled, or tend to feel that they need to "pray, bite the bullet and do it".

- How do you react when such people crumble over challenges, or don't put in as much effort as they should to achieve results?

And I'm asking specifically in the context of a partner especially, whom I'm supposed to feel respect for (especially since I'm the girl and he's the guy).

 

[ZNP]

Hi,

Thanks for this thread. I am new and I hope my reply is in the right place.

What about handling success with regards to how you treat others? For example:

- I feel that I've been through a lot, and I have matured, built a resilience, and made God/my parents proud. Now, when I see people who cannot take suffering, I sometimes view them as weak/spoiled, or tend to feel that they need to "pray, bite the bullet and do it".

I am a HS teacher and it is a common temptation to blame kids who fail on being lazy. However, these verses in James really helped me:
23 For if any one is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like unto a man beholding his natural face in a mirror: 24 for he beholdeth himself, and goeth away, and straightway forgetteth what manner of man he was. 25 But whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and continueth therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed.
When kids don't get it I ask why? That in turn leads to asking how would I have wanted my teachers to help me (law of liberty, do unto others as you would have them do to you). This turns my job of teaching into an investigation, stooping down and looking into the Law of liberty on a daily basis. Ultimately when I look at the kids I see myself, it is like looking in the mirror. The teacher who calls his students lazy is like the guy who looked into the mirror and forgot what his face looked like.

 

[newton3005]

- How do you react when such people...don't put in as much effort as they should to achieve results?

God said to help the poor and needy, but what if they don't want to help themselves? Is that what you're asking? You'd be better off spending time with those who want to be helped.

God didn't help the Hebrews who were enslaved in Egypt until they asked Him for help. How did He help at that point? He made it so they can leave Egypt...and go to the Promised Land. He didn't move them from Egypt to the Promised Land like chess pieces.

God helps those who are willing to help themselves and show it. In that regard, take your cue from God.

 

[High Fidelity]

God helps those who are willing to help themselves and show it.

This is important. God is not a vending machine. We're more than capable of achieving what we want on our own but most people cripple themselves by assuming they can't and need to ask God.

But yes, if someone's willing to help themselves then I am happy to help.

I rarely donate money because most charities have a bloated executive team with unjustifiable salaries and expenses in operation, but I do donate my time to help people develop themselves personally and professionally. Long-term that's more valuable than money. Short-term needs can be addressed by existing infrastructure, e.g. food etc.