Be careful what you ask for...

What is success? In the business world, success can be so many different things. It can mean you're the best seller, best manager, growing your company or growing your own personal wealth. In family, success can mean having the home and car you've dreamed your entire life about, have the best spouse, the best kids who go off to college and become “successful”. But how do we define success in the Christian life? What do you look at and say, “Hey, that is one successful Christian”?

Francis Chan was pastor of Cornerstone Community Church in Simi Valley, California. By all accounts Chan was successful. He and his wife started the church in 1994 with 30 people. Within 2 months it grew to 100 and by the end of 2000, he was leading a 1 million dollar building project to house its 1,600 members. Today, it is a thriving church and is one of the largest churches in Ventura County.

As if that weren't enough, Chan wrote a small, yet powerful book called “Crazy Love”. The book was a huge hit. He followed that up with “Forgotten God.” Chan was in a place that he never thought he would be... wealthy. He had money coming in that he never thought would come his way. For Chan, he just wanted to preach the Gospel and reach people. By all accounts, Chan was successful.

Here is something you may not know about Chan. He took no salary from his church. None. Not only that, he has given away much of the wealth he has amassed from the two books. About the middle part of 2010, Chan made a startling announcement, he was leaving Cornerstone, the church he started, because he knew he was to be elsewhere. After a three-month leave from Cornerstone, Chan said he felt convicted to sacrifice more for God.

Many would look at Chan and come to one of two conclusions. Either he was a guy that couldn't handle success or he just flipped his lid. I never thought either of those, however, I did wonder what would compel a guy, who by all accounts was successful, to make such a drastic change in his life? Then one day, Francis posted a very short video about a verse in Proverbs that put everything in perspective. The verses were Proverbs 30:7-9 and here's what it is says:

7 “Two things I ask of you, LORD;
do not refuse me before I die:
8 Keep falsehood and lies far from me;
give me neither poverty nor riches,
but give me only my daily bread.
9 Otherwise, I may have too much and disown you
and say, ‘Who is the LORD?’
Or I may become poor and steal,
and so dishonor the name of my God.

When I heard this, I immediately went to my bible to read these words myself. I read it over and over and over again and suddenly it was clear. Chan did not leave because of any fear of success or money, nor did he leave simply because he flipped his lid. Chan was following a basic principle, too much or too little can lead us away from the path. Let's look at these verses more clearly. Oh, and a side note, those who say God's word is not relevant today have never read these verses. They are more relevant now than ever before.

First I want to point out that the writer was not a greedy person. He doesn't give a laundry list of wants. He simply says, God, I just have two requests. Just two! No laundry list, no long drawn out wants, just two little requests and then he says, "do not refuse me". How bold of the writer to say to God, hey, don't let me down, don't ignore me, give me these things. Scripture does say that we should ask of God and we should expect that God answers. This writer showed boldness and confidence that God would grant his requests.

So what is first on the list? “Keep falsehood and lies far from me.” Why would the writer of this text ask for God to keep lies and falsehood out of his life? Because he didn't want to be drawn into it. Hanging with the wrong crowd is a topic of discussion around our house with our children. We have tried to instill into their brains, that hanging with the wrong crowd can lead you astray and put you down the path of falsehood and lies. We all know of someone who was the good boy or girl growing up and then one day, they had new friends and eventually a new attitude.

I have always been taught in personal, business and Christian life, to surround myself with people who are better than myself. Maybe they are smarter, more successful or maybe they have a very strong walk. Why? So that they can be a positive influence on me. When we hang with the “wrong crowd”, the negative influence they have on us can move us away from the people that we love, but more importantly, they can move us away from God. We can find ourselves in situations that God would desire us not to be in. We must stay away from those bad influences, it can cause us to turn our backs on God.

I have spent many summers at our local Baptist Association campgrounds. I have been the director over the past 4 years. Some of my counselors are youth and to be honest I consider them to be my kids. As they have gotten older, graduated high school and moved on in their lives, I have, for lack of better words, "preached" to them the importance of the life that they are about to embark on and the importance of who they are hanging with on a daily basis. Some have listened and some, sadly, have not. The writer here, knows that if we are to live a God-centered life, we have to keep ungodly people away from us.

The second thing the writer asks for is not to be poor, but also, not to be rich. He even takes it a step further by saying “give me only my daily bread.” In other words, God, just give me what I need. We live in a very materialistic world. Success for many is driven by what you have, not what you are. These are people who are never satisfied with what God has provided for them, they want more. Bigger house, nicer car, bigger paycheck, nicer vacation, better job. Too often these people never stop to say thank you for what has been provided. Why? Because they have reached a point in life where God didn't provide, they did it all their own.

That is what the writer is warning against. If we have too much, then we forget where it came from and think we did it all on our own. Don't get me wrong, I am not saying God does not want us to have a nice house or car or vacation or whatever the case may be, but if we have too much, it is easy to point the finger away from the sky and point it directly at ourselves. Thus, forgetting God.

On the flip side of that, as I mentioned God does not desire us to be dirt poor, so poor that we are fending to make ends meet. (Side note: there is a difference in not having a job and not being able to make ends meet, and having a job and too much stuff to pay for that we can't make ends meet.) For this type of people, they see no hope of getting out of the situation where they find themselves. Where there is no hope, there is only desperation.

In Matthew 6:25-34, Jesus tells us not to worry about these things; “25 “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? 26 Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? 27 Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?”

What I find interesting, is that the writer didn't say, “God don't cause me to worry about my family or my next meal” , no, he was afraid of his own actions if he had too little and how that would affect God and his image. “Or I may become poor and steal, and so dishonor the name of my God.” He was more concerned about hurting God's image than His very own. How many of us are more consumed about our image among friends and family, instead of His image in the community? When we act out, lie, steal, become drunk with alcohol or even cut someone off while driving our cars with the fish symbol on the back, we are hurting God's image, more so than our own.

What are you praying for today? Do you have a list or is it simple and God focused? I give you these words from Proverbs which spoke to me loud and clear. Today you are facing similar circumstances. Maybe you have hung out with people who have been a bad influence or maybe, you are the bad influence. Maybe you find yourself with too much or not enough. What ever the case may be, ask God today for the wisdom to deal with these challenges, so you too, can be a successful Christian, one who has what they need, provided by God and your life reflects a thankful attitude.

Have Fun, Live Free, Hope Strong

Pastor G