afraid of success
by JVS on Jun.09, 2010, under 2010
Last Sunday I preached about pride… and I needed it. For the past month or so I’ve been worried about potential success. What if the book does really well? What if all that attention actually comes? Am I mature enough to handle it? I’m not sure I am. Pride has always been my besetting sin; the self filled with self. For most of my life I’ve already thought that I’m right most of the time. Will success make that illusion even worse? “Coram Deo” I need to remember this Latin phrase, “Before the face of God” If I really strive to live my life before the face of God, then I’ll be ok. Because before Him I know nothing… before him I recieve all of the attention I need, from the only source that matters, in a way that just right for me… before him I am humbled, and filled with gratitude for everything that is good and right in life… before Him I realize it’s all his. It’s kind of ironic as I think about it… to protect myself from getting to proud about a vision that “see’s God’s presence in all things”, I need to be aware of God’s presence in all things.
June 14th, 2010 on 5:50 pm
Yeah, and confessing pride always tends to accentuate the problem. “Wow, I’m really in touch with my pride, aren’t I!”
Takes one to know one.
pvk
June 10th, 2010 on 3:58 pm
A friend sent this definition of success…
Success: To laugh often and much, to win the respect of intelligent people and the affection of children, to earn the appreciation of honest critics and endure the betrayal of false friends, to appreciate beauty, to find the best in others, to leave the world a bit better, whether by a healthy child, a garden patch, or a redeemed social condition; to know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived. This is to have succeeded! ~Ralph Waldo Emerson