Success Is Not Failing God
Success is not failing God (Heb 4:15, Voice). Hence, it is hearing, “Well done, you good and faithful servant. Enter into the joy of your Lord” (Mt 25:21). The focus of success, then, is doing what God says is best (Gen 39:23, NIV with Message). It is doing what He asked us to do for Him and for others (EDBW, p 585 with Mt 20:26, CW).
To be successful, we must be in right standing with God (Prov 2:7, HCSB), be humble (Prov 15:33, CJB), and put God first (Prov 3:6, LB). When we are successful, we remember the Lord in all we do (Prov 3:6, HCSB), rely on the Holy Spirit (Zech 4:6), and are habitually obedient to God (Gen 24:40, GW; Ps 37:23, NET). In addition, we admit our mistakes (Prov 28:13, LB), act wisely (Isa 52:13, HCSB), and pray for God to give us success in what He has asked us to do (Ps 118:25, GW). Furthermore, we have proper motives (1 Cor 10:31; 16:14) where the advancement of His kingdom (i. e. His lordship in our lives) is all that matters to us (Mt 6:10, CW) and wait for God’s appointed time (Dan 11:27, LB). Finally, we believe the Bible and, when appropriate, believe those who seem to be speaking His message to us (2 Chron 20:20, GW; 1 Tim 1:18, GW).
What are some negative consequences of having merely worldly success? It shows that we don’t fear the Lord (Ps 55:19, LXX). Hence, we experience increased spiritual impoverishment in this life (Prov 20:21, CW). Far worse than that, we will spend eternity without God (Mt 16:26, Voice). Since God is light, love, truth, goodness, comfort, and the source of all joy, this means that we will spend eternity in a place that is dark, loveless, devoid of truth, evil, without any comfort, and without any joy. In other words, we have chosen to go to Hell.
Unending pleasure in the next life; training for godly pleasure in this one.