"This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success." — Joshua 1:8
About five years ago, I set out to start a small photography business with all intentions to become successful in what I would do. I put all my efforts into earning more than anyone my age usually makes and to be really good at what I did. Little did I know that my pursuit of entrepreneurial, financial and industry success was becoming far from God-honoring.
There's a great misconception among Christians that becoming successful is a sure sign that you have honoured God. Some might think "well, if God gave me all this money, fame, property and awards, then He must be happy with what I'm doing." And while success may sometimes look like financial reward and influence, not everyone who becomes successful honours God.
Success on earth is great, and we should all strive for it, but never at the expense of success in God's kingdom. When God promises "success" in Joshua 1:8, the success He talked about had a lot to do not only with success in battle and Israel conquering the Promised Land. It also had so much to do with conquering people's own inner enemies as well.
It all starts with God's Word. The Bible is our roadmap for success, and so much of it teaches us to gain a different kind of success than how the world expresses this. The world wants us to believe that success is having a large bank account, a luxurious lifestyle, 150,000 Twitter followers and a YouTube channel. And while all of those things are great, they become nothing without the foundational element to any success, which is a growing and thriving relationship with God marked by obedience and faith.
Success and excellence become God-dishonouring when they are based on a love of the self, of money, or of this world over the love of God. Worldly success can become a functional idol that we worship, rely on, and base our identity on.
While God does want material and worldly success for us, He wants to make sure that it doesn't take His place in our hearts and that we remain rooted in Him even in times of abundance and prosperity. 1 Timothy 6:10 reminds us, "For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evils. It is through this craving that some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pangs."
What is your view of success and excellence today? Have you sought to build a good foundation of success in following and obeying God's Word first and then letting everything else be an added bonus?
