How difficult it is to handle success without pride overtaking us!

In my 38 year career for a large international oil company, I saw a number of good men who experienced success, only to see a pride build up in them that led to overreach in the exercise of their authority. I too, struggled at times with pride in how I related to others, and in allowing my position to define who I was.

In Second Chronicles, Uzziah became king of Judah when he was 16 and reigned in Jerusalem for 52 years. At first he did what was right in the eyes of the Lord. He sought God through the prophet, Zechariah. He built up the defenses of Judah, raised a large army that defeated the Philistines and constructed public works. As long as he sought the Lord, God gave him success.

“But after Uzziah became powerful, his pride led to his downfall.” (2 Ch. 26:16) He then presumed to enter the temple to burn incense, a duty reserved to the descendants of Aaron. They challenged him, he became angry and as he was raging at them, leprosy broke out on his forehead, which caused him to be isolated for the rest of his life.

Even the disciples, James and John, sought the position of sitting at Jesus’ right and left. The others became indignant, but Jesus said, “Whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant…for the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve.” (Mk. 10:43, 45) The reason Jesus said it was easier for a camel to get through the eye of a needle than a rich man into the Kingdom of God is because of the pride that often accompanies wealth and success.

Our daughter, Emily has Down syndrome. I have learned so much about humility and the love of God from her. She does not presume any special position, only to love her family and friends and to experience our love in return.

One of the problems with how we handle success is its definition. The world views success in terms of position, authority, power and wealth, while God views success by whether we are fulfilling his will in our lives. If our focus is on seeking God’s will, we might be better able to handle the outcome, whether wealth or poverty.

In my morning prayer I often recite a Litany of Humility given me by a friend. “O Jesus, meek and humble of heart, deliver me from the desire of being esteemed, loved, extolled, honored, praised, consulted or approved. Deliver me from the fear of being humiliated, despised, forgotten, ridiculed or wronged. Grant me the grace to desire that others might be loved more, esteemed more, chosen, praised, preferred and become holier than I, provided that I become as holy as I should.”

How do you deal with success and pride in your life?

A couple of years ago, a friend and I went out on the Potomac River south of Washington, D. C. Our intention was to go down river a few miles to a crab house, but the wind became so strong that we could not dock safely, so we decided to return to the marina. The Potomac widens to about three miles in this area so the wind has room to kick up.  Our boat is a cruiser with a flying bridge and a canvas Bimini on top, so there is sufficient bulk for the wind to impact the steerage of the boat. My friend, Bud, an experienced sailor, estimated the wind at 35 to 40 miles per hour with white caps everywhere.

I recalled the story of when Jesus and the disciples were crossing the Sea of Galilee. A furious squall came up with waves breaking over the boat. The disciples woke Jesus who was sleeping, exclaiming that they were going to drown. Jesus gets up “and rebuked the wind and the raging waters; the storm subsided, and all was calm.” (Luke 8:24) The disciples were seized with amazement and fear, asking one another, “Who is this: He commands even the winds and the water, and they obey him.”

I said to Bud, who is a strong Christian brother that we needed to start praying because the wind would hit us broadside as soon as we started to turn into the alleyway of the marina, causing us to crash into the boats adjacent to our slip. We started praying, “Lord Jesus, you calmed the wind and waves on the Sea of Galilee; calm these winds.   The wind did not abate.   I asked Bud to go down to the stern with a boat hook (pole) to try to keep us from hitting the other boats. We both kept praying, “Jesus, calm the wind, Jesus calm the wind!” The wind kept blowing.

As we approached the alleyway, I told Bud, “I need to come in fast to control the boat.” I was so focused on controlling the boat and yelling instructions at Bud, I didn’t notice what was happening. Bud yelled back, “Bill, the wind has stopped!” I proceeded to pivot the boat and backed into the slip without difficulty. As soon as we tied up and secured everything, the wind resumed its fury.

There are many ways we can experience high winds in life – a spouse or child who is critically ill, the loss of a job, a life-threatening illness, a boss who cannot be satisfied, a child who struggles making friends, the backbiting of a competitive work colleague, the birth of a child with a disability, a tax deficiency notice from the IRS — the list is long and varied.

Jesus is available to calm the high winds, whatever form they take. Do you call on Jesus when you encounter the winds of life? Do you have faith that he will come to your aid?

In the early years of our marriage, I took up golf and enjoyed the game and the camaraderie of the men with whom I played. I would play every Saturday morning, not getting home until 2 PM plus once during the week after work. There was also the occasional visit to the driving range. At the time, my wife was looking after our two daughters under five with no car since we only had one at the time. I was a young attorney who had to work late some evenings and travel from time to time.

I had made golf an idol that was taking an inordinate amount of time away from the love of my wife, family, and responsibilities that should have taken a higher priority.

A couple of years later, right after the Kansas City Chiefs had won Super Bowl V, we seized the opportunity to get season tickets as the Chiefs were moving from their old stadium into the larger Arrowhead stadium. At first it was exciting, but it grew to become a project every Sunday on which there was a game. It took nearly the whole day, including the time for transportation, traffic, parking, etc. We had to get a baby sitter for our daughters for nearly the whole day. In addition to the time, it was also becoming rather costly.

I had acquired another idol, a professional football team, again to the detriment of my love and responsibilities to the family. There is nothing inherently wrong with golf or being a fan of a professional football team, but when they detract from loving your spouse and family, and expressing your love for God on Sunday, I was in danger of creating and serving idols over more important relationships and responsibilities – God and family.

The people of Israel seemed to suffer from this tendency when the Bible reports in 2 Kings: 17:41, “Even while these people were worshiping the Lord, they were serving their idols.” This eventually led to their exile in 722 BC, by the king of Assyria, after more than two centuries of unfaithfulness to God who had raised them up as a people and nation. Later, a teacher of the law would ask Jesus which was the most important of the commandments. Jesus said, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength. The second is this: Love your neighbor as yourself.” (Mark 12:30-31)

Loving God and the people he puts in our lives with all our heart, soul, mind and strength, is a consuming task. It impacts every moment and facet of our lives. In Old Testament times, the idols people worshiped included false gods and their images. Today, our idols include entertainers, professional athletes, public officials, hobbies, careers, material things like cars, homes, jewelry, retirement accounts, etc. None of these are inherently wrong in themselves, but they can become idols if we make them so.

Do you have idols in your life that compete with your love of God and the people he puts in your life?

We recently returned from a vacation touring parts of Greece and Turkey. As you view the ruins of ancient Greece and Turkey, you can’t help but marvel at the accomplishments of these ancient civilizations. At the same time, however, they also reflect a never-ending cycle of progress and decline. As historian Will Durant says, all civilizations begin, flourish, decline and disappear.

One of the places we visited was ancient Ephesus, outside of modern Kusadasi, Turkey. Ephesus was the fourth largest city in the Roman Empire, after Rome, Alexandria and Antioch. One of the things that it was most noted for was the Temple of Artemis (Diana), one of the Seven Ancient Wonders of the World. Today, there is only one pillar standing for what was once a 127 columned temple larger than a football field. Our guide said that one of the causes contributing to the decline of Ephesus was that many of the people who lived there or who came there to visit the temple and worship the goddess Artemis, stopped doing so due to their conversion to Christianity from the preaching of St. Paul.

The Book of Acts reports that Paul preached in Ephesus for more than two years, “so that the Jews and Greeks who lived in the province of Asia heard the word of the Lord. God did extraordinary miracles through Paul, so that even handkerchiefs and aprons that had touched him were taken to the sick, and their illnesses were cured.” (Acts 19:10-12) Further proof of Paul’s effectiveness was marked by a near riot which was started by the silversmiths of the city who were losing their livelihood of selling silver images of the goddess, Artemis, because people were turning away from the worship of Artemis as a result of Paul’s preaching. (Acts 19:23-41)

Throughout human history, we see empires and nations rise and then fall, usually conquered through bloody war and conflict. Even some of the Crusades, whose purpose may have been noble in their origins, resorted to the sacking, pillaging, massacre and destruction of anyone or any place that got in their way.

For a brief moment in history, St. Paul changed this pattern in Ephesus. He conquered it without siege or sword, but with the word of God and the example of his life and the lives of his early Christian converts — a worthy model still appropriate for us today.

On the day of Pentecost after the disciples experienced the baptism in the Holy Spirit, Peter is trying to explain to people who had heard them praising God in various tongues and languages what was happening.  He says, “God has raised this Jesus to life, and we are all witnesses of the fact.” (Acts 2:32)

The disciples had experienced an outpouring of the Holy Spirit as Jesus had told them in Acts 1:8 “You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses…to the ends of the earth.” Four hundred years earlier, the prophet, Joel foretold, “I will pour out my Spirit on all people” – young and old, sons and daughters, men and women, even servants and slaves.” (Joel 2:28)

Acts 1:15 indicates that there were 120 present following the ascension of Jesus.  Paul reports in 1 Corinthians 15:6 that Jesus appeared to “more than five hundred of the brothers at the same time.”  All of these were witnesses to Jesus and his resurrection.

God invites all of us to meet the resurrected Jesus in a way that is unique and personal to each of us, and then like Peter and the several hundred disciples who saw Jesus after his resurrection, we are called to witness to the resurrected Jesus in our own life – that we have met him, that he lives in us and that he is real.  Thirty-seven years ago, I met Jesus one October evening during a healing mass, and he took some disorder and sin from my life and offered me a new life if I would accept his healing, forgiveness and love.

I accepted his offer.  For 37 years I have been trying to witness to his resurrection and presence in my life and the life of my family and others.  I don’t always do as good a job as I should, but the reality of his presence is there nevertheless.  I have spoken about him to my family, business colleagues, bosses, subordinates; to people individually, in small groups and large groups; sometimes to strangers.  I have spoken of his love, his forgiveness, his provision, his guidance, his revelation of scripture, his presence in the sacraments and his presence in others.  The greatest challenge is being his witness not in word, but in conduct.  That takes constant prayer, God’s grace and awareness of his presence through the Holy Spirit.

Have you accepted the offer of the resurrected Jesus to live in you, and have you been a witness to this fact?

How should Christians respond to hostility to their faith in the workplace?  Some people believe that faith should be private, not to be shared or otherwise evident in the workplace.  Others object to hearing talk about Jesus, complaining that they do not want Christians imposing their beliefs on them.  They contend that the workplace should be a religious free zone.

St. Paul has a beautiful and comprehensive definition of love in his first letter to the Corinthians.  He says love is patient and kind, does not engage in envy, nor boasts of being proud. It is not rude or self-seeking, easily angered, or keeps a record of wrongs; love does not delight in evil, but rejoices in the truth.  He says that love should always protect, trust, hope and persevere.  (1 Cor. 13:4-7)

There is no law against love in the workplace.  There is no employee handbook that can object to conduct exhibiting these characteristics.  If as Christians, we adhere to these actions, we will stand out; people will notice that we are different; they will seek our counsel and advice on both business and personal matters.

When I worked at Mobil, there was a certain executive who, when he learned of my affiliation with a Christian ministry called Christians in Commerce, would mock my Christianity when we were with other colleagues, but when we were alone would ask me numerous questions.  With others present he would contend that Christians in Commerce was an oxymoron, but privately, he would ask me what we did, and seek my opinion on things in the Bible he did not agree with.  Whether he realized it, he was searching for God, and because of the credibility established in our relationship over many years, the Lord may have given me the opportunity to plant some seeds.

Our initial witness to Jesus Christ is usually better accomplished with conduct than words.  The conduct establishes the credibility and opens the door for the words to have more impact when the opportunity arises. The expression, “talk is cheap” applies to Christians too.  If you want the opportunity to witness to Christ with your words, witness first with your conduct.  Hostility to Christians in the workplace is often a reaction to words that come before the credibility of affirming conduct.

What workplace can object to patience, kindness, humility, forgiveness, truth, protection, hope, trust, perseverance – in other words, love?

How do we know when something is true?  We hear someone make a statement.  We read a section in a book.  How do we test the truth of what we are hearing or reading?

A couple of Jesus’ disciples were walking from Jerusalem to Emmaus discussing the events in connection with Jesus’ trial, execution and reports that he was alive.  Jesus joined them in their walk, though they did not recognize him, and engaged them in conversation, asking what they were talking about.  When they told him, he said, “How foolish you are, and how slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken! Did not the Christ have to suffer these things and then enter his glory?  And beginning with Moses and all of the Prophets, he explained to them what was said in all the Scriptures about himself.” (Luke 24:25-27)

As they approached Emmaus, they asked Jesus to stay with them, and as they began dinner they finally recognized him as he broke the bread and offered thanks.  Immediately, he vanished from their sight.  They said, “Were not our hearts burning within us while he talked with us on the road and opened the Scriptures to us?”  (Luke 24:32)

It takes Jesus and the Holy Spirit to open our minds to understand all that the Scriptures hold for us.  Like the disciples on the road to Emmaus, I met Jesus one October evening many years ago on a country road, and he brought renewal to my life and gave me an intense desire to read Scripture.  Over the next several months I read the Bible from cover to cover as I commuted on the trains in and out of New York City each day.  Sometimes the words would seem to leap off the page with understanding and insight.  My heart would burn within me as the truth of God’s Word and action became evident to me. His Word has since “become a lamp to my feet.” (Psalm 119:105)

It is Jesus and the Holy Spirit who help us discern the truth of what is being said in Scripture and what we hear and read from other sources as well.  Jesus says, “I am the way and the truth and the life.”  We know truth when our hearts burn within us – a litmus test given us by the Holy Spirit.

If God said, “Ask whatever you want me to give you,” how would you respond?  God asked Solomon that very question.  Surprisingly, though he was Israel’s new King, he replied in complete humility, “Now, O Lord my God, you have made your servant king in place of my Father, David.  But I am only a little child and do not know how to carry out my duties. So give your servant a discerning heart to govern your people and to distinguish between right and wrong.  For who is able to govern this great people of yours.” (1Kings 3:7, 9)

While God offered him whatever he wanted, Solomon did not choose the things people usually think of first such as wealth and power, or good health and a long life. Rather, he acknowledged his lack of experience and need as he came to serve as King. There are some lessons here.

First, when we are approaching God with a request, we need to come humbly, acknowledging our true status and need.  Solomon characterized himself as a little child.  How appropriate when coming before God!  Jesus said unless we become as little children we will never enter the kingdom of God.  We may not always understand what to request, confusing wants and desires with real needs.  Solomon was overwhelmed with the task he was about to face as a young and new king reigning over Israel.  That is not necessarily a bad place to be since it helped him recognize his needs in contrast to his desires.

Second, leave God some room to act in what will be in your best interests. Seek his will for your life.  Solomon did not ask to be a successful king.  He asked for wisdom and a discerning heart.  The Bible tells us that God was pleased with Solomon’s request and gave him not only what he asked for, but also what he didn’t ask for including riches and honor.  God also told him that if he obeyed his commands he would give him a long life.

Centuries later we hear the echo of this same response, when Jesus tells us not to worry about what to eat or drink or wear, but “seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.” (Matthew 6:33)  Our highest priority should be to seek God’s will in all things.  It is a measure of success that far surpasses the world’s view involving wealth, fame, honor, and power.

So, what would you ask?

How often do we fail to see Jesus present and acting in our lives because we do not expect it?  The circumstances fall outside the paradigm we have established for ourselves, and we don’t recognize him.

This apparently happened to the disciples on the day of the resurrection when two of them did not recognize Jesus as he began walking with them to the village of Emmaus.  He asked what they were discussing, and they told him about how Jesus of Nazareth, a prophet powerful in word and deed, had been handed over to authorities and crucified.  Now, to their amazement, some women had reported that they had seen a vision of angels who told them that he was alive.  Jesus then proceeded to explain the scriptures to them of how the Christ had to suffer all of these things to enter into his glory.

Not until Jesus joined them for supper and broke the bread did they recognize him. “Then their eyes were opened and they recognized him, and he disappeared from their sight.  They asked each other, ‘Were not our hearts burning within us while he talked with us on the road and opened the Scriptures to us?’” (Luke 24:32)

Why didn’t they recognize Jesus?  They weren’t expecting to see him because they thought he was dead.  The resurrection did not conform to their paradigm.  Even though Jesus had previously told them that he was going to suffer, die and be raised up, they could not comprehend it.

When our last child, Emily, was born we were shocked to learn that she had Down syndrome.  We were expecting the usual “normal” baby who could serve to be a playmate to a brother that had been born a couple of years earlier and round out our family of five children.

Initially, I did not recognize God’s presence in Emily’s birth and all of the blessings he would bring to our family through her.  A child with a disability was outside my paradigm.  But then, like the disciples on the road to Emmaus, God begin to open my eyes and share his mind with me and his love for his special children – children who never offend him as we do, who never pervert the work of his hands as we often do, children who have no guile, but only purity of heart.

God often comes to us in people and circumstances that we do not expect in order to reveal a truth or take us to a new level in our relationship with him.  Sometimes he wants us to take his place in opening the eyes of another to his presence.  We know it is him when our hearts burn within us.

Today, Emily celebrates her 28^th birthday, and our family will see Jesus through her beautiful smile, her many hugs and a special joy that transcends her disability.

Is there a paradigm in your life that is preventing you from seeing Jesus?

To the Romans and the people of Jesus’ day, the cross was a symbol of dominance, suppression and death.  To the Christian, the cross is a symbol of love, giving of self and the ultimate sacrifice.  St. Paul says, “For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God” (1Cor. 1:17)    God’s power and wisdom are made visible in love, sacrifice and the subordination of our will to his.

Out of love for the Father and us, Jesus subordinated his will to the Father and sacrificed his life on the cross.  As a result, God overrode the physical laws of nature and raised him to life, an exercise of power that the world had never seen before nor has it ever been able to replicate. When the world exercises power, the consequences are experienced and then fade, becoming just a chapter in history.  Throughout history we have seen worldly powers come and go, but the power of God remains.  God’s power in a kind word, an act of love or sacrifice and their consequences last forever.  Not so with the power of the world.

We lament our sins and those of others, and we lament the policies and power of governments that detract from life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness, but the cross of Jesus and all that it is and all that it represents in the wisdom and power of God is the antidote to our lament. It may seem as foolishness to the world, but to us, both individually and collectively, it provides the inspiration, instruction and saving power of God.  No matter what has happened in our lives, it provides the opportunity for forgiveness, redemption and renewal here and now, as well as for eternity.

Hardly foolishness!  Rather, a message to be embraced.