Managing Success – Attitude

I checked the English dictionary for the word “attitude” and the Oxford dictionary describes it as “a settled way of thinking”. Of course, a way of thinking is always a matter of choice; one has to choose to settle in it. I honestly do not know if success by itself really impacts on our attitude or it just exposes what is already there, as I am inclined to believe. I believe very much that people with bad attitude are often exposed when success happens because success gives an unreal kind of confidence that makes one feel like they can do whatever they feel like doing and get away with it. It is often a previously settled way of thinking regarding life that is exposed when one begins to walk in this promised life; but an attitude which we can allow the Word of God alter. What is interesting is that we are sometimes a little hasty so we perceive ourselves as successful just a little before the success and then expose our ugly mindset a little too early. This has cost some dearly. One of the principal things God desires for us is that we allow His word alter our thoughts, attitudes and/or perception of life so that our settled way thoughts or attitude on anything would be based on His Word but we struggle with that.

 

Romans 12: 2a “Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think.”

The problem with having the wrong attitude of mind is that it can truncate one’s success story. Naturally, life throws things at us that may attempt to bring us down but at the end of the day, they fail except we allow them. There are times in the life of the believer when it seems like the devil has succeeded in bringing them down but it not so: it is instead an experience allowed by God to further lift the believer. Therein lies the unexplainable wisdom of The God whose thoughts are far from ours. Whilst it is true that the devil works assiduously to destroy the believer, what is even more true is that he fails as often as he does; but the one enemy who can bring the believer down easily is the enemy within and bad attitude is one such enemy hence God in His wisdom counsels that we see through His eyes which is through His word, that we may succeed and remain successful notwithstanding what we may be going through. Success does not mean we won’t “go through” challenges but we will always “come through” and God will be in it all with us.

Psalm 23: 4 “Even when I walk through the darkest valley, I will not be afraid, for you are close beside me.”

Isaiah 55: 8 “My thoughts are nothing like your thoughts, says The Lord. And my ways are far beyond anything you could imagine.”

Saul, unlike David, saw office and power as something to be grabbed or hold on to. David understood that it was given to him freely by The One who had the authority to give it to any who He chose to give it to and so He sort to please The Owner instead of grabbing power. Anytime we forget that we are not self-made, we get carried away and our attitude becomes very offensive. If we must be successful consistently and in increasing measures, then we must watch our attitude and ensure that it aligns we the thoughts of Him from whom all success comes. Nothing is worth holding unto except our faith in God through Jesus Christ his son. Our “attitude” or perception toward anything in life is always a reflection of our relationship with God. It doesn’t matter how spiritual or godly we may think we are, our true state is always displayed in our attitude. Our interpretation of any situation or circumstance is always impacted by our belief system. If for example one thinks of themselves as “more equal than others” then there is certainly a problem with their relationship with God. Isaac was so well taught that even after his father died and the Philistines kept striving with him over wells he dug, he just left them and dug another. His attitude toward “things” was right and God blessed him. We must fill our minds with the right things that we may think the right thoughts. This also has to do with the people we “hang out with.” We have to be deliberate about choosing the right company. Jesus Christ had the right attitude of mind even before He came down to earth and remains successful even today.

Philippians 2: 6 “Though he was God, he did not think of equality with God as something to cling to.”

MANAGING SUCCESS – JESUS, NOT SUCCESS, MUST BE LORD

True success is from God; and through He whom all things are made and in whom they all consist – Jesus Christ.  This is the lasting, all-encompassing success which does not come with sorrow. God is the only source of true success. I am by no means suggesting that a successful person is one who doesn’t face challenges; but God is not only with every such person through every challenge but also brings them through to a better place and causes every experience to work good for them. Life will always throw challenges but God’s people come through. One of the most important things in life is to have a knowing that we own nothing. We came into this world with nothing and will leave everything behind when we leave so success is not success until it facilitates our success in eternity. The life we live here must prepare us to live a good life hereafter so we do not want success by all means because we know that the end does not justify the means; true success begins with the means. It is of utmost importance that we all as believers are very mindful of this truth. The assumption that “the means” isn’t so important is a fallacy that is weakening the church at least in my Country, making us less impactful. It would appear that our “means” have left us very handicapped.

Romans 8: 28 “And we know that God causes everything to work everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them.”

Psalm 23: 4 “Even when I walk through the darkest valley, I will not be afraid, for you are close beside me.

If we understand that success is from God, then we would not struggle to hold unto to it. It is needless and vain to wickedly fight to hold unto or perpetuate it down family line. Some believers get so desperate to perpetuate success down their family lines, they wreck the lives of their children and still end up unable to do so. The only way to achieve this with God given success is to ensure that one passes down the very same principles that got you there; those are the most important things. Everything that comes from God starts from the spiritual. We must do all to ensure that our success is not allowed to compromise our relationship with God because it has a way of taking on its own life and attempting to mislead the successful. Sometimes, it is wise to write down the things we must not forget to do before we get there especially since we know that success is definitely our portion. The earlier we make decisions regarding what must not be compromised, the better for us. That way, success is tamed and will fail when it attempts to take on a life of its own. It is so easy to forget the basic things that took us there when success is allowed to take charge. We must be controlled in all things.

Hebrews 11: 3b “what we now see did not come from anything that can be seen.”

Proverbs 16: 25 “There is a path before each person that seems right but it ends in death.”

King Saul is for us, an example of a man who was misled by success. He did not start out hungry for power. Infact he was shy initially and even hid himself when he was elected at the general assembly: but after success, which he did not earn because it was purely a gift from God, he changed. He was so drowned by it that he even wanted to kill to ensure that his son became king after him. Such is the craftiness of untamed success and this could be some of the problem of today’s church in my Country. Could it be that success has craftily led us away from God and we don’t know it? Could it be that we moved away from Him so much that “the philistines” seem to be taking over land? Could it be that success met us ill prepared and as a result is drowning us? From what we see in the bible, sometimes our inability to deal and/or destroy the enemy is not so much for their strength but for our own weakness. Separation from God weakens the believer. We may not have carried our success well. Pride in anyone or form is terrible. Just as it does evil to the poor, it does even greater evil to the successful. How so presumptuous to assume that your son will be king just because He made you king. Pride does not lift anyone up. It just creates a false sense of lifting. All promotion comes from God who is also able to put down.

Psalms 75: 7 “It is God alone who judges; he decides who will rise and who will fall.”