Will Success Ruin My Relationship With God

Today, we are going to tackle the tough topic of the idea that success might ruin one’s relationship with God. I’ve had numerous conversations with those doing business, as well as those in pastoral work who have struggled with this question. They’ll say something along the lines of, “Bill, I’m afraid of becoming successful financially, business successful, successful in my career because I’m afraid it might cost me my relationship with God,”  or they ask, “What if I get a lot of money and it causes me to walk away from God?”

This is a very important question and it is one that has to be answered. 

There’s a Psalm where one of the Psalmists makes a request before the Lord. He says, “Hey Lord, would you only give me enough for my daily needs, because if you give me too much, I will curse you. And if I get too little, it will cause me to become a thief and I’ll go around stealing.” He isn’t alone in this, there are a lot of people who have read this and they’ll say, “This man was a really Holy person really seeking after God’s best in his life and all that.” And in my opinion, nothing could be further from the truth in that situation. If literally getting a bit more than what I need everyday is going to cause me to curse God, I. Have. Major. Issues. And if not having enough for a day means I’m going to go down to Wal-Mart and start stealing, That’s. A. Major. Issue.

This man was exposing an inner core problem to the Lord that is not the walk for everyday people. Our walk is our father, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. It is said “sewed in a famine and reaped a hundredfold return,” right? He took it, both of these people looked at monetary resources very differently. Isaac looked at it through the lens of God is my provider and God is my source and therefore, I’m going to take and use that to multiply and grow what it is that God gave me. The other person looked at it from, well… if I have too much or too little, God I don’t need you anymore. If you don’t give me just what I need I’m headed down to the Wal-Mart to become a thief. That was someone who had major issues with success.

One does it correctly, so the question is, will success ruin  my relationship with God? I would start out by posing this question to you, Where are you with your walk with the Lord? Have you been willing to start with the very first things He said, which is to bring your tithe to the storehouse? Do you take 10% of your net income and bring that to the church? 

There’s this principle that the Bible teaches that if I’m faithful with a little, I will be faithful with a lot. So the reality is that if you make a thousand dollars and you’re taking a hundred of that and bringing that you’ve already the key connection to the Lord, that He is the supplier of money, right? Your heart has already been erected in the right way with the Lord. And if a thousand turns into 10,000 a month, then you would bring a thousand of that, right? And ultimately all of it is understanding all of that. 

But the answer to the question, is success going to ruin my relationship with God? It’s not success as the Psalmist said… it is more about your heart. If your heart is in the wrong place, too little or too much can cause problems. It’s about putting yourself in a position like Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob did; these men were tithers. These were men that sought first, the Kingdom of God and everything that had to do with Him. They knew and I know that God is my supplier and a tenth of that belongs to His storehouse that there might be meat in His house. And If I continue to be the wise steward of those resources that God gives me I have seen the changes. I am not writing checks for what I used to make in a year. But it had to start with the decision that I had to MAKE THAT I PAY MY TITHES. I don’t mess with God’s money.

Once again, on the side of too little, not enough can cause you to disconnect and on the other side is the right way of doing that. And that is you saying, “God, you’re the one who brings success into my life and I will honor you with the first fruits of that.” On an ongoing basis, I am reminded of a speaker that I love to listen to who says, tithing is greed insurance, right? It means all along the way, no matter how big the checks become, that 10%... that is the Lord’s always. It’s greed insurance.

So I challenge you today, let your heart first and foremost say, “God, I’m putting you before money. There’s no too much or too little that will ever make me walk away from you. Instead, Lord, I’ve set you first. You are primary in my life.” And that is your path to creating your best life.