Everyone braces for the danger of failure. Fewer founders brace for the subtler danger of success. But Scripture warns about it constantly: it is in the good times, not the hard ones, that we are most likely to forget God. Stewarding success well is its own discipline.
Prosperity has a short memory
When the money comes, the quiet temptation is to credit yourself — my grind, my genius, my hustle — and slowly write God out of the story. Deuteronomy names it directly: beware, when you are full and prosperous, that you do not forget the Lord who gave you the ability to produce wealth.
"But remember the Lord your God, for it is he who gives you the ability to produce wealth."
Deuteronomy 8:18
Wealth is a tool and a test
Money magnifies whoever you already are. It gives a generous person more to give and a greedy person more to hoard. Success does not build character; it reveals and amplifies it. That is why the win is a test, not just a reward.
Stewarding the win
- Stay grateful out loud — name where it came from, often.
- Grow your giving faster than your lifestyle.
- Keep people around you who knew you before and will tell you the truth.
The goal is to arrive at success as the same humble, dependent person you were on the way up. Few things are harder — or more worth it.