In Matthew 19, Jesus shares a story about a rich young ruler. The young man is asking what he must do to receive eternal life. Jesus simply tells him to keep the commandments, but the man states that he has done so and questions what he is lacking. In verse 21, Jesus responds. “If you wish to be perfect [that is, have the spiritual maturity that accompanies godly character with no moral or ethical deficiencies], go and sell what you have and give [the money] to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me [becoming My disciple, believing and trusting in Me and walking the same path of life that I walk].” For those of you that know the rest of the story, the rich man left grieving because he wasn’t willing to give in all up for God. He treasured his possessions more that his relationship with Christ. Jesus then says this to his disciples in verse 23, “I assure you and most solemnly say to you, it is difficult for a rich man [who clings to possessions and status as security] to enter the kingdom of God.” 

From “Gods at War” by Kyle Idleman:

Jesus My Provider

The god of money was almost irresistible. He spun tales of sports cars, luxury homes, and all the good things he was going to buy for us. Yes, we had heard the old refrain that money can’t buy happiness. We knew that. We had seen what it had done to people over and over.

But we were going to be different. We would know how to use the money without letting it use us. We didn’t want to buy happiness; we just wanted to rent a little pleasure. But somewhere it all went wrong. Somehow the god of money became a slave driver. 

He kept us running, following him, trying to keep him from getting away. We followed the green brick road until we longed to rest. We put our hope in what we might find at the end of the rainbow. We thought money would provide us with security, significance, and some measure of satisfaction. But strangely even when we had money we still felt broke. 

Then we chose Jesus and discovered that he is our provider. He provides everything we need. He provides us with security because he never leaves us or forsakes us. He provides us with significance because our identity and value are found in his love. He provides us with satisfaction because our souls were made for him. We discovered that God would meet all our needs according to the riches of his glory in Christ Jesus. 

I have personally lived in plenty and lived in need and I have to say that when I am in that place of need, I rely on God to keep his promises and meet those needs. He is my source. He is my focus. He is my everything.

Proverbs 30:8-9 says, “Give me neither poverty nor riches, but give me only my daily bread. Otherwise, I may have too much and disown you and say, “Who is the Lord?”

How do you define success? Money? Fancy cars? A big house? Your position at work? The amount of stuff you have acquired? It is good to be driven, but are we driven for the right purpose? Who are we trying to make a success? Ourselves or God?

The author puts it this way: “success is when we achieve; blessed is when we receive. If we say “I’m successful,” we are giving the glory to ourselves. When we say “I’m blessed,” we are giving the glory to God.”

I want to give the credit to the one who makes it all possible. The one through which all blessing flow: GOD!

Jesus My Purpose

The god of success whispered to us, “Don’t you want to be king of the hill?’

“Which hill?” we asked.

“Any of them. All of them.” He smiled.

And we pursued a life of climbing, always climbing. Up hills. Up corporate ladders. Up lists. Up food chains. Up social registers. This god never had to make his case for what he was offering.

But along the way, climbing, working, earning, and achieving became ends in themselves. It was no longer about what we could do, but about whom we could out-do. 

If we were honest we would have to say that it wasn’t for the Lord or even for others that we worked but for ourselves.

And we had several unhappy surprises. One was that we hurt people as we climbed over them or elbowed them down the hill. Another was that we were always weary from the effort. Not to mention always wary of challengers to the throne. And the greatest surprise was that the top of the hill wasn’t nearly as great as we thought it would be. The top of the hill ended up being a pretty lonely and disappointing place. We wondered if maybe we had the wrong hill.

And then we discovered on last hill. But this hill already had a King, along with three crosses standing on it. And he extends us a simple invitation: “Come and follow.” And as we follow him he turns success on its head. The first will be last and the last will be first. The greatest among you will be the servant of all. Consider others better than yourself. To find your life you must lose it. 

And so now, we still care about success, but we define it differently. He has become our purpose. We live for serving him, knowing him, for pleasing him. That’s how we define success.