I’ve met people who travel on the “get rich quick” highway of life. They apply a considerable amount of energy in circumventing the system—eagerly looking for shortcuts to success. I often wonder what would happen if they applied the same energy to an honest work ethic. My hunch is they would be more successful than they imagine.
These types of people often fall prey to Ponzi schemes, fraud and extortion as they trade wisdom and common sense for cheap advice and get-rich-quick schemes
Read More dishonesty, success, con artist
This whole chapter is one of nostalgia for the good times of the past. It is the first part of a train of thought that carries through to the end of chapter 31. The past is contrasted with the pain of the present (chapter 30) and a plea of innocence (chapter 31).
Read More priorities, wisdom, successWisdom begins with an understanding of God—who he is and how he responds to the world around us. In Jesus, we have the perfect example of who God is. Seeing the world through God’s eyes requires us to know him personally through his Son. We can do this by having a living relationship with Jesus and reading the Bible.
Read More success, discipleship, valuesHow many times have we watched our favourite sports team almost win the game of the season only to be defeated by…themselves? Critical mistakes, foolish moves, perhaps over confidence caused the whole winning strategy to recoil against themselves regardless of their opponent’s skill. The same holds true in our lives. Often we are our own worst enemy.
Read More success, self-deception, truthfulnessI don’t know about you, but in high stress times, it’s easy to slip into old patterns, isn’t it? In this story Miriam, Moses’ sister dies in the desert. Moses and the Israelites are approaching the end of their wandering in the wilderness. In the midst of their mourning, the next generation of Israelites come to Moses and Aaron and complain (like their parents) about the lack of water, how Egypt had been so much better than this place and how they are going to all die – oh how our kids learn from us parents!
Read More success, faith, methodsThe lives of the rich and famous are consistently on display for all of us to see. Every day, we can be surrounded with stories of people we can see are moving towards success, and people who seem to be heading towards disaster. We talk about the path they seem to be on as if we know all of what is happening in their lives. If our lives were on display like those of the “famous,” what would people be able to see about the path we seem to be on?
Read More success, disasterOutstanding athletes, musicians and actors often struggle to cope with the trappings of stardom. David the harpist turned giant killer also had to face the challenges that accompany heroism!
It’s a little surprising that Saul had to ask his general Abner who David was. After all David had been in the palace playing his harp for Saul during his bouts with depression (16:14-23).
Read More success, God’s presence, jealousy
Up until this point, Jesus was the only one teaching and doing miracles in his ministry. Now Jesus hands over the baton. He passes his authority on to the disciples, delegating them to take over what he’s been doing. How exciting! What pressure!
The assignment may have seemed daunting (who likes making cold calls?) and risky (going on a trip with no money?).
Read More obedience, success, authority, delegationDo you know anyone whose life hasn’t started yet? Maybe they justify their atrocious spending habits on the fact they’re young. Or put in a half-hearted attempt at work because they’re underemployed. But they say that once they’re older, married, a parent, have more time, or have landed a “real” job, then they’re really going to get their financial life in order.
In Luke 16, Jesus says two important things about how we manage the things that we have.
Read More success, relationships, trustworthiness, moneySome things never change. I have just been reading a book (The Road to Character, by David Brooks) in which he laments a radical change, over the last fifty years or so, in what are considered the important things in life. People used to put much more store on character (the kind of things that will be said at your funeral) than they do now. Today there is much more emphasis on success (the kind of things that go on your CV).
Read More success, character, integrity, short-cuts