Don’t Let Success Ruin You
By Rick Warren
“Fire tests the purity of silver and gold, but a person is tested by being praised” (Proverbs 27:21 NLT).
God tests us with success.
Does that sound strange? You might have an easier time believing that God tests you with stress or suffering.
But think about it.
You’ve seen success ruin people. The young rock star gets everything she has ever wanted and then crashes and burns. The athlete signs a big contract and then parties away his future. A business grows bigger than anyone expected, and the owner becomes reckless with expansion plans.
We’ve read the stories.
As a pastor for more than 40 years, I can tell you that more people have been ruined by success than by suffering. Suffering tends to push people toward God. But when people are successful, they often forget about God.
For every person who can handle pain, you’ll find very few who can handle fame. The praise goes to their head, and it destroys them.
The Bible tells us in Proverbs 27:21, “Fire tests the purity of silver and gold, but a person is tested by being praised” (NLT).
In reality, every compliment is a test. Compliments and criticisms are a bit like chewing gum. You can chew on them awhile, but don’t swallow them. Both of them can really mess you up.
It’s so easy to forget God when success comes your way. But if you remember that your success comes from God, you will pass the success test every time.
PLAY today’s audio teaching from Pastor Rick >>
Talk It Over
How have you seen people tested by success?
How have you been tested personally by success?
How do you deal differently with a criticism than a compliment?
For more Daily Hope with Rick Warren, please visit pastorrick.com!
Unshakeable! Study Kit
You Can Thrive In Every Circumstance
Do you want to thrive in every circumstance? In the Bible, Daniel and his friends rose to top positions of leadership because they were unshakeable in their faith even though they were surrounded by a corrupt culture. Today, the world’s value system increasingly drifts further from God. To thrive, no matter what, you need to dive into scripture and learn how to be unshakeable in your faith.
In the 9-part DVD study kit, Unshakable: Thriving No Matter What Hits You, Pastor Rick helps you walk through scripture and learn how to …
• Stand strong when your world is shaken
• Stay firm when your pressured to conform
• Be bold when your beliefs are belittled
• Be confident when you’re asked to do the impossible
• Stay cool when the heat is on
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This devotional © 2017 by Rick Warren. All rights reserved. Used by permission.
You can listen to Rick Warren on OnePlace.com.
