Dear Diary, “I want to be a success but the harder I pursue success the more empty I feel.” As we begin I really feel that we must answer three extremely difficult questions. What drives you? What causes you to work the way you do? What happens to all you have worked for when you exit this life? Dr. Christine Breese writes this about the pursuit of success. “Many have gone crazy pursuing success. Success is like the carrot at the end of the stick that keeps the donkey moving forward. But we must ask ourselves what success really is, and what it really means. To most, success means financial prosperity. To others it means fame, influence and power. To others it means complete freedom from having to answer to anyone for anything. Success seems elusive, however, to almost everyone.” Like the pursuit of pleasure, the pursuit of success is never ending. We can only outpace our competitors for so long; soon someone will pass us robbing us of that success we pursued so hard. Solomon was extremely successful by the world’s standards but he soon found out that it wasn’t enough. As he reflected on his life he asked himself the three questions we asked ourselves earlier. As he discovered the answers to these questions the picture grew more and more dismal. Our goal for today is to look closely at the price tag attached to the pursuit of success and like Solomon make the decision if it is really worth it.
I. There are many reasons that we get involved in the relentless pursuit of success.
A. We are pushed to be a success from a very early age.
1. As parents we encourage our children to succeed whether it is in the classroom, on the athletic field or in musical pursuits.
2. We strive to raise our children to work hard and to pursue their dreams.
3. Charlie Sheen is quoted as saying, “As kids we're not taught how to deal with success; we're taught how to deal with failure. If at first you don't succeed, try, try again. If at first you succeed, then what?”
4. Many parents desire for their kids to be better at everything they do than the kids around them.
5. This constant pushing will inevitably cause children to believe that in order to have their parents’ approval they must achieve success at all costs.
B. We are told that for our life to count we must be a success.
1. The drive to succeed that is instilled in our lives as children cause us to believe that we must strive for the approval of those around us.
2. Regardless of who we are, none of us want to come to the end of our life and find out that we did nothing that really counted.
3. We push the limits, work the extra hours and sacrifice with the hope of obtaining success. The problem is that this looks different to every person.
a. For some it may be a promotion.
b. For some it may be a bigger house or more stuff.
c. For some it may be more money.
4. Regardless of what box it comes in, the measure of success is that which causes others to look at us and say wow.
C. Our competitive nature tells us that we cannot allow ourselves to be outdone.
1. The competitive nature is instilled in our lives at an early age and drives us to win at all costs.
2. We strive to outpace all of our competitors because we want to be the first to climb the ladder of success and to be the best at what we do.
3. Failure or losing is not an option. Studies have shown that winning has a positive emotional impact while losing has a negative emotional impact.
4. A study was done in a physical education class that used table tennis. Among students playing a competitive table tennis game towards the end of a series of physical education skills classes, winners were significantly more satisfied, proud, confident and grateful after the game than losers, who in turn felt significantly more angry, depressed incompetent and surprised than winners.
5. The old saying, “It doesn’t matter if you win or lose but how you play the game.” Our society refuses to allow this to be true.
II. Solomon pursued success and found it around just about every corner.
A. The nation of Israel flourished under Solomon’s leadership.
1. Israel became truly united under the leadership of Solomon. It was governed in twelve districts by twelve district governors.
2. The government was quite effective as Solomon delegated the government oversight to competent men who took care of the day to day operations.
3. The tax burden was divided in a very equitable way as each district provided for the government one month out of the year.
4. Solomon made very good use of an extensive network of slave labor and foreign craftsmen.
5. Solomon built a tremendous trading and shipping network that would reach as far as the Indian Ocean.
B. Solomon was the wealthiest man on the face of the earth.
1. Every three years Solomon’s ships would bring back 420 talents of gold which is equivalent to $570,240,562 in today’s terms.
2. According to 1 Kings and 2 Chronicles from gold alone Solomon brought in 666 talents per year which is equivalent to $709,050,024 in today’s terms.
3. The best estimate that Scholars can come up with is that if Solomon built the same temple today it would cost more than $140 billion dollars.
4. Solomon’s net worth was undoubtedly approaching more than a trillion dollars in today’s terms.
C. People from all over the world came to pay homage to Solomon.
1. Solomon’s fame spread throughout the world and people traveled from distant lands to find out if all the stories about him were true.
2. A taste of his wisdom is seen in the book of Proverbs and Ecclesiastes. However, 1 Kings 4 tells that Solomon wrote 3,000 proverbs and 1005 songs.
3. One of the best none accounts of Solomon’s fame is when the Queen of Sheba came to find out if all she had heard about Solomon was true.
4. After she checked out all he had in Jerusalem and hearing his wisdom, her final response was a blessing to the Lord God of Israel who raised up such a wise person to sit upon such a magnificent throne
III. The reality we must face in regard to the pursuit of success.
A. Success is fleeting because it just doesn’t last.
1. The pursuit of success is a fruitless pursuit because the standards for success in the world are ever changing.
2. A person can only outpace their competitors for so long before someone comes along and passes them.
3. Regardless of how hard we try there will always be someone who is better than us at what we are trying to succeed at.
4. If we measure success financially, a down turn in the economy or a financial crisis can come along and wipe it all out.
5. If we measure success according to our career, health issues or corporate downsizing can come along and take it away.
6. Solomon basically says that getting our meaning from work or success is meaningless (hebel), in this context it means it is impossible to comprehend because of the contradictions that exist.
B. The empires we build in this life will crumble after we are gone.
1. People work their whole life to pay for their home and put some money away but what happens when you exit this life?
2. Solomon says no one knows if the person who comes after you will be wise or foolish with all that you worked so hard for.
3. Dr. J.E. Smith puts it this way in his Old Testament study series. “Too often it is the case that the successors of diligent workers dismantle grand programs, destroy great structures, squander enormous wealth and otherwise ruin what the previous generation sacrificed to achieve.”
4. Solomon might be thinking of his son Rehoboam who in one foolish and stubborn moment dismantled all the Solomon had built.
5. The truth is that when we exit this life everything; the wealth, skill and intelligence we used to succeed will die with us.
C. The pursuit of success is not worth the price tag that is attached to it.
1. Francis Chan in his book “Crazy Love, Overwhelmed by a Relentless God” writes this, “Our greatest fear should not be of failure but of succeeding at things in life that don't really matter.”
2. The things we often make priorities in life and strive to succeed at do not matter in the eternal scheme of things. What good is it to be a success in the world’s eyes and a failure in God’s eyes?
3. Things that we sacrifice in the pursuit or worldly success are things that God would never even think of asking us to sacrifice.
a. Our marriages.
b. Time with our children and grand children.
c. Time with our parents.
d. Our health.
4. Solomon concluded that earthly success was meaningless because we endure pain and stress for something that will be gone when we are gone.
5. When we spend our life in pursuit of earthly success we will spend our twilight years sad, lonely and full of regret.
D. The only thing that matters is becoming a success in God’s eyes.
1. Most people make it a goal to become a success but the problem is that they invest their energy in becoming a success in the world’s eyes rather than God’s.
2. There seven things that we need to work on to become a success in God’s eyes.
a. A growing and intimate relationship with our heavenly Father.
b. A growing and nourishing relationship with our spouse.
c. Raising your children in God’s ways and helping them to establish strong relationships with their heavenly Father.
d. Nurturing and maintaining your relationships with others.
e. Stewardship of physical resources and time.
f. Use your talents to forward the Kingdom.
g. Serving others and showing them the Love of Christ.
3. Many a person has gotten to the end of a long and highly successful career to find a marriage broken apart; grown children they missed watching grow up; big expensive homes, but with no one to share all the stuff they worked for with.
4. Consider Jesus’ words on the subject. “What good will it be for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul? Or what can anyone give in exchange for their soul?” (Matthew 16:26—NIV 2011)
5. Solomon arrived at this conclusion, failure is not living our life the way God created us to live.
Closing:
The romantic comedy “Just Like Heaven” is about a young, driven doctor named Elizabeth (played by Reese Witherspoon) whose determination to succeed often drives her to work long days. At the end of one such day, she loses control of her car and is struck in a head-on collision with a truck. Elizabeth ends up in hospital in a coma for several months.
A short while after the accident, a young, lonely widower named David (played by Mark Ruffalo) moves into Elizabeth’s old apartment. When he does, he finds Elizabeth’s confused, misplaced spirit still inhabiting the rooms. Only he can see and hear her. In time, he even falls in love with her.
Late in the movie, David and Elizabeth are sitting in the bay window of their apartment, looking at a photograph of Elizabeth celebrating with her sister. “You look happy,” David says. “I was happy. But what was I doing with the rest of my time?” she asks. “When I think about my life and I. . . all I can remember is working. You know? Working and working and trying so hard. And for what?”
Trying to comfort her, David reminds her that she is a doctor: “You help people. You save lives.” “Yeah, including my own,” she says. “I saved my life—for later. I just. . . I never thought there wouldn’t be a later.”
