Success

Luke 12:15

New International Version (NIV)

¹⁵ Then he said to them, “Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; life does not consist in an abundance of possessions.

Success is measured by where you live, what you drive, how big your house is, how much money you make, where you work, how you speak and how you dress….according to society.

However in the Kingdom of God NONE of that matters-the homeless man laying down under the bridge of the inner city is EQUAL with the man who designed and funded the bridge. We are all equal in Christ. Only in Christ can you take advantage of the equality because outside of Him you are being ranked in importance and taken out ruthlessly if you don’t pose a benefit or as a threat to the world system.

Because the world is so materialistic driven it can be hard,more so for the younger generations to go through life without falling pray to the wants/yearns for the latest ‘things’ that everyone else has. Myself included, it can become an addiction for some-that they want so much to be accepted by others that they would go in debt or even steal just to attain those ‘things’.

suc·cess  

/səkˈses/

Noun 1.      The accomplishment of an aim or purpose.

Success in the Kingdom is walking in your purpose with peace, joy and abundance. No where in that does it mention all the ‘things’ you bought for show…

Rich Man

Luke 12:16-17

New International Version (NIV)

¹⁶ And he told them this parable: “The ground of a certain rich man yielded an abundant harvest.¹⁷ He thought to himself, ‘What shall I do? I have no place to store my crops.’

In the world wealthy men in movies and television shows have been depicted as evil and conniving people. We all know that this not entirely true, however the abundance of money, things, and notoriety can get to anyone’s head whether saved or unsaved. This is why not all Christians are wealthy-this is for one of two reasons: those Christians haven’t learned or mastered the promises of God in which “You have what you say” and that you will have witty ideas and inventions OR God knows that if He blessed them in such a way that they will abandon Him and fall back into sin thus destroying themselves at the hand of their blessing.

No one can lie and say that whenever they get paid, are gifted or sold something for money that they don’t feel good. Now imagine that feeling times a 100! This is why those who are still in the world struggle with balancing their humbleness and their new authority which ultimately turns into greed or arrogance automatically. It’s harder for an unbeliever but it it’s still hard for those who are believers in Christ because along with such a large financial gain comes with people that want to sing your praises in order to take from you or those who want to tear you down at any cost.

There is NOTHING wrong with being wealthy! It’s the fact that you have to be prepared for the temptation and arrogance that will try to creep in. Keep God first and be yielded to His spirit and you won’t be led astray by the money and all the things that follow after it.

Leaving your father’s teachings behind…

In Genesis chapter 12, Abram (Abraham) was told by to leave his father’s teachings behind to move forward into his purpose.

This still applies today. This implies both literally and figuratively, our parents do their best to teach us things that will help form us into law abiding citizens and well-rounded people. However, when it comes to the things of God, we can rely on our parent’s teachings alone, we have to follow the word of God to.

A lot of times those things that our parents have taught us are errors and we cannot accept those errors just because that’s what you were taught. I use to say “well how was I supposed to know,I wasn’t raised like that…”  When I look back at that sentence I realized that I was allowing what I was taught by my parents prevent me from maturing in God.

Mama and Daddy aren’t always right,even though we still have to respect and obey them as long as it does not interfere with what is right in God’s eyes. You can not be limited to what you were taught by others, you have to be able to learn and adapt to new things because in order to walk the path to our purpose everything is not going to be familiar. For someone who doesn’t like surprises and likes routine and familiarity like me, God will help us branch out little by little according to what He knows we are capable of handling.

I believe that it is important to know that your walk/purpose may not be revealed to you until you are 90 years old, so don’t let the fact that you haven’t discovered what you purpose is discourage you, just know it will be revealed in due time and just stay focused on the Lord. I used to think that I was so behind in life and in my walk because I wasn’t sure what my purpose is, even to the point of anxiety that I wouldn’t find it. It was reassuring to hear in church today, that we have no need to be in hurry or feel left out because we haven’t found it yet.

Don’t give up hope and don’t let previous teachings of our loved ones hinder our growth.