1 of 1

Q. What are the down sides to success?

A. I can think of four:

Success can make you lazy. As someone has said, "The road to success is dotted with many tempting parking places." When things are going well, it's easy to become too comfortable. Complacency replaces commitment. Golfer Chi Chi Rodriguez said, "It's a lot harder to get out of bed in the morning when you're sleeping in silk pajamas."

Success makes you vulnerable. More people want to tackle you if you're the one carrying the ball. The more successful you become in the world's eyes, the more vulnerable you will be to criticism and jealousy. Others will make more demands of you. As John Maxwell says, "Success is relative; once you have it, all the relatives come!"

Success brings temptation. As one Christian said, "If I had more money, I'd just be tempted to sin more extravagantly!" Success breeds an attitude of self-sufficiency. We begin to think we don't really need God. Such pridefulness is spiritual high cholesterol that clogs our souls and chokes the flow of faith and grace.

Success will not satisfy your soul. Someone said, "Many people spend their lives climbing the ladder of success, only to come to the end and realize it was leaning against the wrong wall!"

Retired 60 Minutes correspondent Harry Reasoner, reflecting on his career, commented "I envy the people with clear eyes." No matter what rewards life brings you, there's no substitute for a clear sense of purpose and faith.

David Faust is an Indianapolis pastor and editor of The Outlook magazine.

Adapted from: Praise Under Pressure (Standard, 1996)

For your convenience, Praise Under Pressure is available in the ChristianityToday.com bookstore.

 1 of 1

Prayer for the Week

Lord, help me to align my goals with Your purposes for me.

				Try an Issue of Men of Integrity Free! Name Street Address City/State/Zip E-mail Address No credit card required. Please allow 4-6 weeks for delivery. Offer valid in U.S. only. Click here for International orders. If you decide you want to keep Men of Integrity coming, honor your invoice for just $19.95 and receive five more issues, a full year in all. If not, simply write "cancel" across the invoice and return it. The trial issue is yours to keep, regardless. Give Men of Integrity as a gift Buy 1 gift subscription, get 1 FREE!

FREE Newsletter Sign up for the Men of Integrity Newsletter    RSS Feed   RSS Help