Be wary of Success

Call To Prayer

Title: Be wary of success

By: Owusu Clifford S.

Date: 02/09/2022

  Now it came to pass, when Rehoboam had established the kingdom and had strengthened himself, that he forsook the law of the Lord, and all Israel along with him. – 2nd Chronicles 12:1

For a couple of weeks now, the two books of Kings and Chronicles have been my areas of study. The depth of wisdom hidden in those books, and the light that the Holy Spirit has thrown on them has blown my mind. Indeed, the Bible is more than just a book filled with stories of do’s and don’ts. The Bible is deep, deeper than we can ever comprehend even before we leave this earth.

In today’s Call to Prayer, I want to focus on one king by the name Rehoboam, the son of King Solomon. It was during his reign that Judah and Israel separated, for he took counsel from the young men he grew up with instead of the elders who were with his father Solomon concerning the matter of lightening the load of the children of Israel (2nd Chronicles 10). When this happened, Rehoboam was careful to take the Levites and the priests with him to Jerusalem, and the people came to worship in Jerusalem. He also built cities of defense and made Jerusalem strong (2nd Chronicles 11). In all, he did well for himself and he followed the ways of God.

That notwithstanding, his success would be the genesis of his downfall. In our verse for today, we read that when his kingdom was established, which in actual sense was established by God, and he strengthened himself through the fortified cities he had built, he forsook the ways of God. How ironic! Thus, the God who has been the source of everything he has been able to accomplish became secondary to him. What he has been able to achieve became his fortress. Success is dangerous!

Ideally, you would imagine that when God blesses men with success, that will draw them to him the more, however, Biblical evidence suggests the other way round. In 1st Kings 11:1-8, there is a classic example of how Solomon was led into the worship of idols by the numerous wives he had. His wisdom and riches led him to marry many wives, and they in turn led him away from God. Quite unfortunate! Success is good but it can be perilous as well.

The key lesson for today is that, as believers we should not let the blessings of God, in whichever form it comes, become the source of rebellion and dishonour to God. It is good to taste success, it is a blessing from God, but it also comes with a test of our loyalty to God. God does not bless us to keep us away from Him. Ideally, God would want us to draw closer to Him so that He can sustain what He has blessed us with. Be mindful of success, it can make or break you. God bless you!

Prayer Point:

Let us thank God for the answers to our prayers. Let us pray for the grace of sustainability to abide in God irrespective of what we achieve and the wisdom to manage the blessings of God in our lives.