The Insidious Snare of Success

Martyn Lloyd-Jones, the late Welsh minister and medical doctor, was a well-known expository preacher and author of many books on the Bible and biblical truth. Sounds like he experienced more than his share of success. Given that, it’s interesting that he observed, “the worst thing that can happen to a man is to succeed before he is ready.”

 

Some of us might respond, “Why does he say that?” After all, we all want to succeed in whatever endeavors we choose. The sooner success arrives the better, right?

 

In reality, sudden success can prove to be a slippery slope. We don’t need to name names, but we can all think of pro athletes, entertainers, business leaders and politicians who became celebrated early in their careers only to wind up in a ditch somewhere. People once on the brink of promising, bright futures ending up on the human scrap heap.

There are a number of reasons for this insidious snare, but I think one primary cause is summarized by Proverbs 27:21, which says, “The furnace is for silver and the crucible for gold, but a man is tested by the praise he receives.” Receiving acclaim and fame before one is prepared to handle it properly can prove devastating.

 

But we don’t have to become household names to struggle with handling success. Rising quickly through the ranks at work, winning the lottery, receiving a substantial inheritance, or even gaining positions of influence in our church or community early in our adult lives can result in being “tested by the praise [we] receive.”

 

Readiness to experience success in appropriate ways requires maturity and experience. But you can’t teach experience – or maturity. Those come (hopefully) only with the slow passage of time, seasoned with ample doses of perseverance, struggle, humility – and failure. God can use all of those to shape our character, as we’re told in Romans 5:4.

 

Reading through the Scriptures we find one example after another of individuals who were used in extraordinary ways by the Lord, but only after they had been tried and tested. 

 

Among them was Joseph, who after being sold off by his jealous brothers, then wrongly accused and imprisoned for years, rose to righthand-man status to the pharaoh in Egypt. Moses, raised in the Egyptian pharaoh’s family, was forced into exile for 40 years before God singled him out to lead the Israelites out of Egypt after 400 years of slavery. 

 

Nehemiah was a lowly cupbearer for Persian king Artaxerxes, a responsibility he performed faithfully. Eventually the respect he earned from the king gave him authority to play a key role in the rebuilding of Jerusalem. Then there was Daniel, who had been handpicked to train for service to the king in Babylon. He clung to his faith and convictions, refusing to compromise, and over time was accorded a position of great influence.

 

We see how Jesus’ disciples – who after His death and resurrection became apostles taking the Gospel message to both Jews and Gentiles – were carefully prepared for their missional work. Paul didn’t become a fruitful missionary and major contributor to New Testament writings overnight either. After gaining elite status as a Pharisee and persecutor of Christians, he encountered Jesus on the road to Damascus. Even then, God didn’t give him a leadership role with Christ’s followers until nearly a dozen more years of spiritual “seasoning.”

 

This isn’t to say that younger people shouldn’t be entrusted with leadership positions. But the Bible warns of getting caught up in success too soon at any age. As we read in 1 Peter 5:5-6, “Young men, in the same way, be submissive to those who are older. All of you, clothes yourselves with humility toward one another, because ‘God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.’ Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that He may lift you up in due time.”

 

Hard work, determination, initiative, talent and imagination are all ingredients for success. But they are best nurtured over time and utilized with humility, recognizing the gifts God bestows and opportunities He presents – in due time.