August 18, 2021 – Click here to listen
I was thinking this morning that I’ve enjoyed startling success in life and achieved most of the things I wanted to accomplish. I named my book Miracle on Luckie Street because it is a miracle of God that I’m even alive much less successful.
In Proverbs 12 it states: “Before destruction the heart of a man is haughty and before honor is humility.” No matter the amount of wealth, fame, power, or great accomplishments it is imperative that we keep in mind that we are creatures and not the Creator. Think about it. All of our lives are a composite of good and evil and yet the Lord provides extravagant dignity (grace) to those who love Him. It comes from Him and not us and certainly not from below.
During the pinnacle of my career, I had thousands of articles, and TV/radio interviews and everyone seemed to want to know the secret to my success. After all, going from living the life of a homeless drug addict vicious criminal full of hate for everything from God on down to successfully raising a loving family, being married to the same woman for fifty years, earning many millions of dollars, and putting God number one in one’s life doesn’t happen every day.
My answer never seemed to satisfy them. I would say I owe everything to God and His word the Bible which I have used as my mentor for all these years. They would invariably respond by saying oh we know you had a redemptive moment in your life but what is the SECRET to achieving success. I would sigh heavily and state
I am not now and never have been some saint and I had my share of falls as I muddled my way through life and continue making them right through today. But I don’t have any secrets and I believe there are no secrets.
If someone wants to succeed, be it raising kids to be followers of Jesus or to achieve business success there are certainly words to live by we can all use, but it’s no secret because the Bible tells us all how to achieve success. The words to live by: Be humble, be hungry, always be the hardest worker in the room arriving first and leaving last, and put God first in your life by being dedicated and committed to seeking His purpose and promises for your life and living it out.
Importantly we must understand that God’s promises are all on condition of humble obedience. We will find His promises in the Bible. Read and study it daily. In these last days, it becomes all the more imperative that you have a good understanding of Scripture. The last great delusion is soon to open before us. Antichrist is to perform his marvelous works in our sight So closely will the counterfeit resemble the truth that it will be impossible to distinguish between them except by the Holy Scriptures.
I read somewhere the following and it sums up some good advice:
Talent is God-given; be humble. Fame is man-given; be thankful. Conceit is self-given; be careful.
Matt. 11:29
Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.