What is True Success? February 1, 2011

Reading: Proverbs 4:23, Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life.

What is success to you? As a man, what defines you as being successful? A good job?, lots of money in the bank?, power at work?, good health? A beautiful wife?, retirement? It could even be wrapped up in your kid’s success… (Johnny made the All-Star Team again this year).

As a Christian, true success is to be like Christ. This is our goal, plain and simple. What distractions are keeping you from the goal?

Are you guarding your heart? Are you keeping your heart clean? Are you pretending?

Successful people can be awfully good at pretending. Though we look successful, sound successful, talk about success, even dress for success, all the while some of our hearts are a drift. Jesus calls this hypocrisy. Jesus warned his disciples to beware of hypocrisy, pretending to be something that we are not, acting as though a mask is covering our face. Hypocrisy is a terrible sign of trouble in our hearts. It waits for the day f exposure. It requires change. It requires honesty. Tell God today you need Him. Ask Him to help guard your heart.

What are some areas in which you have been struggling to keep your heart clean and guard your heart?


What will you do today to guard your heart and be successful in protecting your wellspring of life, your heart?

REVIEW

How were you able to guard your heart today from those things that you listed earlier?

Based on your perception, how did the steps that you took improve the wellsprings of your life?