2 Chronicles 26:16
"But when he was strong, his heart was lifted up to his destruction: for he transgressed against the LORD his God, and went into the temple of the LORD to burn incense upon the altar of incense."
King Uzziah struggled with the same thing many people still struggle with today and that is allowing their perceived success destroy them. It says in the verse above, "But when he was strong, his heart was lifted up to his destruction..."
After all the good he did, he didn't keep his heart in check and it eventually destroyed him. The good that he did was destroyed because he allowed pride to fill his heart. What is it that we can do to keep our heart in check?First, don't look at what you have done, but at what God has done. One of the reasons Uzziah's heart was lifted up was because he perceived that he was the source of his success. You must always remember that any success you have had is because the LORD allowed it. Oftentimes we can become lifted up with pride because of our success when we had nothing to do with it. You must keep your success in perspective. When you stop giving God the credit for the success He has given, then you can rest assured that your success will be short lived.
Second, don't look at how far you have gone, but look at how far you need to go. I often say that we don't need to look down the ladder to see how far we've climbed, but look up the ladder to see how far we have to go. Uzziah was looking backwards when he should have kept his eyes looking forward. Anytime you stop looking at how far you need to go, you will find that it will cause you to get off course and destroy the momentum and success you've had. Looking at what you need to do will help keep you from being filled with pride.
Third, don't measure your perceived success, but measure your obedience to God's standard. One of the greatest mistakes people often make is that they live for success. Only one time in the Scriptures does God mention success. Uzziah's mistake was that he thought he succeeded because he had accomplished some things, but he forgot that God only measures success to how we live according to His standard. Yesterday's success doesn't mean you have succeeded today. In fact, the success you presently live in is because of yesterday's actions. If you are going to enjoy success tomorrow, then you must keep doing today what brought your success. Don't stop the forward action, but keep doing what you have always done.
Keeping your heart in check will be one of the hardest things to do when you have achieved some success. Don't let your success ruin your heart. If you will follow these three principles, then you will be able to keep your heart in check. Pride has destroyed many people, and it all starts because we took our eyes off God and placed them upon ourselves and our accomplishments. Keep your eyes on God, and you will have no problem keeping your heart in check.