1 Kings 10:1
"And when the queen of Sheba heard of the fame of Solomon concerning the name of the LORD, she came to prove him with hard questions."
Success has a funny way of ruining good people. Good people have achieved success and it changed them. I guess it should be said that success has a way of revealing the true person. When a person achieves success, it truly reveals their heart.
In the verse above, Solomon had achieved success. His success spread throughout the known world, and the Queen of Sheba came to see if what she heard was true. When she was done with her exploration she said, "the half was not told me." Solomon had truly achieved success. He finished the temple that his father told him to build. He built a great house for himself. He was financially the wealthiest man of his time. It seemed there was nothing that could stop him. Yet, there was something that could stop him and that was his success.
Solomon's success revealed his true heart. When he was young and tender, he sought the LORD with all of his heart. When he had not achieved success, he sought God's wisdom and followed His commandments. Yet, when he achieved success, the wisdom didn't seem as important as it was when he was young. God's commandments were not as vital as when he had no success to claim. Instead, success revealed the true heart of Solomon as he became jealous of those who might take his throne. Success revealed his heart as he "loved many strange women." Solomon's success revealed who he truly was, because once success was achieved he felt there was nobody who could stop him.
Success truly reveals who you are. When you have reached the top of a certain world and you are truly in control, that is when your heart is revealed. I have watched many assistant pastors become the pastor of a church, and the beliefs they once preached are no longer being lived. I have watched Christians who struggled financially serve God, but when they reached the pinnacle of financial success they dropped their ministries and standards because they felt they had achieved a status that no longer required these. I have watched church's that struggled in their beginning years stand for the old paths and aggressively go after the souls of men change once they had their large buildings and crowds.
Friend, success is truly a great achievement, but success can be your biggest enemy for it will reveal who you really are. Success will show what is truly in your heart. This is why it's important not to put your eyes on success, but keep your eyes on God. When you have your eyes on God, you will never change who you are when success comes for you won't see your own success.
Let me remind you that true success is never achieved until your life is done. Just because you reached a certain milestone in your life does not mean you have achieved success. Success will be determined at the Judgment Seat. It is there when God reveals the truly successful Christian. Until you stand at the Judgment Seat to receive your rewards from God, let me challenge you to keep doing what you're supposed to do no matter what success may seems to have come your way. If you will keep this mindset, any success will reveal a heart that is truly for God.