Don't Let Success Be the Enemy of GoodnessSample

Day 2: Goodness doesn't have to be an enemy of the successful. 

If one extreme is to equate worldly success with goodness, another is to assume that success and goodness are incompatible, like oil and water. Are success and goodness enemies? Not necessarily. 

Naaman's wife's slave girl wasn't successful - quite the opposite. She was like a prisoner of war taken from Israel at a young age and forced to work for her enemies, but she evidently loved her mistress because she told them how Naaman's leprosy could be healed. 

If someone is good in God’s sight by showing love in spite of circumstances and seeking the best for others, like the unnamed slave girl, they aren't enemies of successful people. Instead, they know that worldly success is fleeting, whereas God’s goodness is for eternity. So good people show love for others and long for successful people to come to faith in the Lord. 

How are our priorities? Are we so fixated on becoming rich and powerful that we've forgotten the foundational importance of reflecting God's goodness? The slave girl had no chance of worldly importance in her life. She had no prospect of being anything other than a slave girl, but she still refused to become bitter. 

Instead, she focused on being good to her captors, even when it was counter-cultural. It would have been natural for her to want revenge. Quite the opposite though, she sought to bless them. 

'Almighty God, may we share the good news even with our enemies, because You gave Yourself for us even when we were enemies. To Your honor and glory, amen.' 

Do you struggle with envy of those who are more successful than you?