Arrogance Has No Place in Heaven
A sermon delivered by Thomas J. Boone, PhD
Central Presbyterian Church, Mobile, AL, October 7, 2007
Lamentations 1:1-6; Luke 17:5-10

What does it mean to be successful? Turn on the television and you’ll see plenty of images that have become cultural icons for success. People like Dr. Robert Jarvik, Mayor Mike Bloomberg, Oprah Winfrey, and J.K. Rowling have become synonymous with success. On the Internet there are over 390 million sites that deal with success in one way or the other. Tune into success.com or success.org and you’ll find thousands of resources on how to become successful. Peruse Success Magazine and you’ll read one story after another teaching people to measure success in tangible terms such as money earned, books published, records produced, grades earned, colleges attended, titles granted, or retirement spent free of financial burden. Success, who wouldn’t want it?

Yet, some of the world’s great minds refer to success in less glamorous terms. Albert Einstein said that if A equals success then A equals X plus Y and Z, where X equals work, Y equals play, and Z equals keeping your mouth shut. The great nihilist philosopher Nietzsche said that success is a liar. Twain wrote that to be successful all one needs is ignorance and confidence.

I suspect that Einstein, Nietzsche, and Twain are speaking not out of jealousy, but out of reflection borne from experience. If we make culture-defined success our relentless goal then we will die wanting. It’s “Citizen Kane” revisited. A wealthy media magnate, Charles Kane, had money, power, and fame, but he died lonely and miserable. At his death he uttered one word, “Rosebud.” All the world’s success couldn’t make him as happy as the single memory of his childhood sled that he called “Rosebud.”

The world says that if you want to be deemed a success you must acquire more, but apparently the fruit is lacking. The world’s version of success is painted on ads with happy faces surrounded by beachfront property, boats, or skiing on some fancy downhill slope. It’s all about the self, getting the most for you. In reality though I’ve seen other things at the bottom of the self-oriented success well: alcoholism, addiction to gambling and drugs, broken families, parents having lost connection with their kids, severe debt, or the loss of self. Every now and then we see these things emerge and people wonder how it could’ve happened.

But God didn’t create us to be, excuse the pun, losers. If we’re in the image of God then we’re in the image of the Supreme Victor of the universe. We’re in the image of the One who is second to none. So, it’s not that success is a bad thing, it’s simply that the Evil One has taken God’s manner of success and turned it into something that will destroy us.

Jake Mays was a student featured in the publication Best & Brightest Class of 2006. By all standards of high school Mays was a success. Among his achievements were a 4.67 GPA, captain of his baseball team, an active presence in civic leadership, and a math tutor for underprivileged students. When asked what the reason for his success was he made a remarkable declaration: “Most kids are always trying to be the most popular. For me, it would give me such a headache worrying about stuff like that. I know I’m not perfect, but I’m the way God meant me to be. You should be happy and content with the way you are.” I think Mays will go far because already he gets the point that scripture makes. Success in life isn’t about acquiring stuff, it’s about living the way God meant us to live.

David Steward has written a creative book titled Doing Business by the Good Book. Now, before you think this is just some palsy attempt to make money from Christians looking for the latest success charm bracelet, let me share something about David Steward. He is founder and CEO of World Wide Technology Inc., the largest African-American owned company with sales in excess of $1 billion. But, he is before all this a man of faith. In one chapter he talks about the strength of servant leadership. From Jesus, he writes, we learn that management is not about self-service, but others-service. The heart of success, he says, is the heart of life: active love for others.

Success as a Christian doesn’t rule out success in the world, but it most certainly doesn’t follow the same rules. That’s why when his disciples asked Jesus for more faith in Luke 17:5 Jesus responded that they were clueless. He knew darn well what they were thinking. Here they were, disciples of the Son of God. They got that point. But what they assumed was that their relationship and faith could earn them notoriety and greater stature. They lived in a culture where success meant having more of something, so it was natural for them to make this assumption. If Jesus could give them more faith, then they would have more success in God’s kingdom.

But Jesus responds in an unexpected way. He tells them that they have enough faith already, but what they need is an attitude adjustment. Faith is a vocation, not something that supplements our role in society. If you’re a Christian lawyer, you’re a Christian first and a lawyer second. If you’re a Christian mother, you’re a Christian first and a mother second. If you’re a Christian retiree, then you’re a Christian first and your contribution to society or your community as a retiree comes second. We bring our faith with us wherever we go, and if we’re going to be successful this means that we’re always mindful that we are God’s servants.

Success as God’s servant means doing well and humbly what He wants us to do where He plants us. I am appalled at that part of the Christian church that subscribes to the notion that if you are a true believer you will have success as the world defines it. Take a page out of the Old Testament and here’s what we see. Jerusalem was never a powerful city in comparison to Babylon, Egypt, and Assyria, but it had reached a place of prominence among rulers of the world. All trade routes between eastern and western empires went through Palestine so Jerusalem became a place of great wealth. It came into success, but along with their success came an attitude of pride, arrogance, and boasting.

The prophets describe Israel as nation that had forgotten its humble beginnings. It had forgotten that God intended Israel to be a witness of God’s love to the world. But arrogance has no place in heaven, and it has no place among God’s own. So, it came to pass one day that Jerusalem was in ruins. The day came when there was no more hope. It was a horrible day, and it was a grave one through which God reminded His people of God that no matter what success they have in life they are to remain God’s servants. Do well what God gives you to do, and where God has you to do it.

Let’s switch back to the disciples in Luke. The disciples thought that being greater in God’s kingdom was about having more faith. Instead, what was true for them was the same that was true for Israel. Their focus wasn’t supposed to be on acquiring more faith, but to do well what God had asked of them to do. Success as a person of faith means remembering our place, and treating others as God desires.

Our success is not in the amount of faith that we have, but the degree to which we allow God’s to own our lives. So, as Christians we endeavor to make peace where there is unrest; we practice mercy where there is severity; we bring justice where there is no justice; we show compassion among the disfavored; we take Jesus’ name to those who don’t know him; and we comfort the broken hearted. And we do these things not because they will earn us better places in heaven or give us rewards and recognition by organizations. We do them because we are not our own; we belong to God and so we humbly do what we ought, and ask, “What more, Lord, shall we do?” We ask this of the same Lord who went so far as to give His life for us, which we will remember as we take Communion together. Hallelujah. Amen.