Today on MoneyLife with Chuck Bentley

I spoke on this topic yesterday and got very passionate about it. We seem to so easily let humanism into our thinking. Humanism is the view that man is the cause and creator of his success.

Humanism can be masked in Christian language. If you truly know God and have a Biblical worldview, you see God as the sole source of success. We're going to go back into Scripture today and look at key passages that define success. At the end of the program I'm going to connect it to financial success and how it relates to where you are right now, whether prospering or suffering financially.

In England and Wales, 58% of people choose secular pop music to be played at their funerals. The #1 song was My Way by Frank Sinatra. I believe the lyrics of that song are the absolute manifestation of a humanistic philosophy. I've attended funerals where that song was played.

The lyrics read like a humanist manifesto. Throughout the song, the person is taking credit for everything in his life. He is celebrating his control and selfishness over purpose. The song defines success on man’s terms.

Even Christians can get wrapped up in humanistic thinking. We should have dreams and goals about impacting the world for Christ. Our dreams shouldn’t be just what we want to accomplish. We all want to be successful. We get off track when we want to do it on our own terms instead of God’s terms.

Another Biblical example is Nehemiah. His preparation in life equipped him to help rebuild Jerusalem. When he heard about the state of the walls and gates, he wept and turned to God for help.

The greatest mistake the world has made is to define success as what man can do without God
We celebrate man’s achievement and think everything good in man’s history is because of his own brilliance. Nehemiah knew he couldn’t rebuild Jerusalem on his own. Before he went before the king, Nehemiah cried out to God. He confessed his sinfulness and smallness and admitted he could only have success by God’s strength.

Nehemiah is a great example of someone who walked by faith in God instead of faith in himself. Nehemiah met tremendous resistance; enemies came around them.

Satan loves to mock and ridicule those who walk by faith to discourage them. He will attack those who try to apply what they learn on this program today. Nehemiah knew God would give him success. Just as Nehemiah, we must continue to believe God is the source of success despite the ridicule.

Success doesn’t result in a problem-free lifeand it doesn’t mean your task won’t face adversity. Success is not achieving a life of indulgence. Success is remaining faithful to God despite the difficulties of life.

Resistance only proves your faith is genuine. You can't have faith without obstacles. God has a part and we have a part. Nehemiah had to work hard and fight a battle to achieve the goal. He did his part and trusted God to give him success.

When you’re trusting God, you just have to do your part, work hard, be skillful, be humble. God doesn’t give success to the prideful. We should look to the Lord in every way. See yourself as dependent on the Lord. Submit yourself to the Lord’s will.

The philosophy of, "Have a dream and make it happen," is wrong. Your dream should be to do the Lord’s will. We live to do His will. If we know that we are to live dependent on God and don’t, it’s sin. You’ve turned away from the source of success.

King David is considered one of the most successful men to have ever lived. He was a leader, warrior, man after God’s own heart. David recognized that everything comes from God and belongs to God. He praised God and encouraged people to do the same.

God’s definition of success is to do your part, be faithful, trust God, and praise Him. If you want to start pursuing success as defined by God, get in a quiet place and go to Him in prayer. Confess your sin. Ask that His will be done in your life and submit to it.

If you decide to do this, write me at ChuckBentley@Crown.org. I'd love to hear about it!
If you do that, write to Chuck and tell him.

Being a Success

To be a success from the biblical perspective, three prerequisites need to be met.

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Dealing with Pride

How do you break out of a pride trap? You must vow to serve God and God’s people, and then make yourself accountable to others.

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Work as unto the Lord

Being God’s emissary on the job is not difficult; it’s impossible. Only by yielding to Him can the world get a glimpse of Him through us.

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Being content

Contentment is knowing God’s plan for your life. Therefore, seek God’s will for your life, then trust God’s promises.

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Other Resources:

• ABCs of Money Package
• Career Direct
• God's Principles for Operating a Business
• Business By the Book
• Crown Mvelopes