The Danger of Overconfidence
Joshua 17:13
"Yet it came to pass, when the children of Israel were waxen strong, that they put the Canaanites to tribute; but did not utterly drive them out."
A disturbing statement is said about the children of Israel when God says that they didn't drive out the inhabitants; instead, "...they put the Canaanites to tribute;..." This statement reeks of overconfidence. The children of Israel thought they could handle those whom they had not conquered because they were so confident in themselves; however, they did not realize that their overconfidence blinded them to the fact that disobedience to God's Word should never be tolerated. They thought past victories guaranteed them the strength to handle those whom they should have defeated. Their overconfidence led them to become lazy instead of being vigilant, which eventually led to their bondage to those whom they should have destroyed.
Let me be very clear, I understand the importance of being confident in all that you do. Leaders must be confident in what their doing if they are going to succeed. Churches must be confident if they are going to succeed in reaching the lost for Christ. Business owners must be confident in their product and service if they are going to succeed when others fail. Confidence is one of the most important ingredients you will find in successful people.
However, overconfidence will lead one to destruction. Overconfidence comes from an over estimation of one's self. You will find a person becomes overconfident when they think more highly of themselves and their abilities than they should. You may have had some success, but past success should not cause you to think that you are better than others and stronger than what you really are. You must be careful to keep a proper estimation of yourself and your abilities to keep you from becoming overconfident.
Moreover, overconfidence gives you a false assurance of future success. You will find that people who are overconfident will assume that they will succeed because they succeeded in the past. Past successes don't guarantee future success. The effort, methods and hard work that brought success in the past will secure success in the future.
Furthermore, overconfidence will blind you to your own weaknesses. When a person becomes overconfident, they begin to think that they have no weakness. Overconfident people always see others as the problem and not themselves. When overconfidence blinds you, you will stop working on the areas where you are weak.
Let me warn you from becoming overconfident in yourself. Always keep past successes in their proper perspective: they are in the past. Any future success will be determined by what you do right now. Keep the proper perspective that at best you are still a sinner and are capable of making mistakes. Simply put, to keep from becoming overconfident, keep your eyes off yourself and place them on Christ and others. That is the key to always keeping yourself in proper perspective.
Success can breed overconfidence and eventual failure; or it can humble you that God would allow you to be able to help others. Daily ask God to help you to keep a proper perspective of yourself. When others brag on you, listen to it for a couple of seconds, then forget about it. Those who brag on you now will attack you later if you don't keep doing what you are supposed to do. Don't let overconfidence be your eventual destruction.