I have seen so much in my life-time. I’ve seen people that were renowned later become unrecognizable. I have watched individuals when I was a young adult that were local celebrities on top of the world. They were doing so well that everyone marveled at their success. As they rose to stardom, they were kind, compassionate and personable.
At some point, that changed. They became self-centered, arrogant, and looked down on others. In their busyness, they focused more on the “important” people and obtaining more than stewarding the relationships and resources that God blessed them with. They began to believe that it was about them and not about God’s goodness and grace. In each situation, I’ve seen people step on others going up the ladder only to need those same people as they slid down or in several cases, crashed. They thought they did it alone.
Arrogance and Pride will convince us to believe that we did it and that it is about us. Our blessings come from God. It’s not that we ignore the work, the pain, and effort that goes into it, but we realize God made it possible.
The Bible says, “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.”
(James 1:17) Scripture affirms that God blesses us. “And my God will meet all your needs according to the riches of his glory in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 4:19, NIV) These blessings come at a cost— our obedience. Part of our obedi- ence is recognizing that all we have belongs to God and is a result of God’s goodness. When we forget that, we are destined for trouble.
Throughout the Bible, there are examples of individuals in leadership that stopped following God. Their decisions cost many of them their lives and had a direct impact on those who were followers. Repeatedly, God took his goodness away and the consequences were severe because of their arrogance and belief in their power.
Hezekiah became the king of Judah at the age of twenty-five and reigned in Jerusalem for 29 years. Hezekiah was a good king. Heze-kiah’s father was the opposite, and I can imagine that shaped his decision to serve God fully. When he became king, Hezekiah removed the idols throughout his kingdom, warning his people of the consequences that their ancestors experienced for abandoning God.
I don’t think we realize that many have replaced God with idols, too. Our success and accomplishments can become an idol and replace God in our lives.
Despite the challenges Hezekiah faced in his reign, God protected and provided for him. 2 Chronicles 32:22-23 (MSG) states, “God saved Hezekiah and the citizens of Jerusalem from Sennacherib king of Assyria and everyone else…. All the surrounding nations were impressed—Hezekiah’s stock soared.” Hezekiah’s humility and faith in God not only blessed him but others around him. Hezekiah was very wealthy and honored.
Hezekiah became deathly ill, and he prayed to God. God gave Hezekiah a miraculous sign but scripture states that “But the sign, instead of making Hezekiah grateful, made him arrogant. This made God angry, and his anger spilled over on Judah and Jerusalem.” (2 Chronicles 32: 24-26 MSG) His refusal to acknowledge God had an impact on others. Hezekiah repented of his pride and God forgave him. He succeeded in everything because he put God first in his life.
We can learn a lot from Hezekiah’s experience. We must ac- knowledge God and those around us who contribute to our success. We do nothing on our own. When we believe we can do it without God, we are setting ourselves up for disappointment and disaster.
The next time you think you did it by yourself, remember:
“Your boast becomes a prophecy of a future failure. The higher you lift yourself up in pride, the harder you’ll fall in disgrace. It’s better to be meek and lowly and live among the poor than to live high and mighty among the rich and famous. One skilled in business discovers prosperity, but the one who trusts in God is blessed beyond belief!”
(Proverbs 16:18-20 TPT)
Dr. Froswa’ Booker-Drew is the President of Soulstice Consultancy, LLC and the Founder of the Reconciliation and Restoration (r2fdn.org) Foundation. The author of 4 books including Empowering Charity: A New Narrative of Philanthropy, Dr. Booker-Drew is also the host of the Tapestry Podcast.
