Lesson 8: The Idol of Spiritual Success

We likely have no problem recognizing material success as an idol that will vie for our affection. After all, the Lord declared that “you cannot serve God and money” (Luke 16.13). However, that is not the only type of success that can become an idol. As hard as it may be to fathom, spiritual success can also become an idol that will take our hearts away from the Lord.

In our previous lesson we noted how material success prevented the rich, young ruler from following the Lord (Luke 18). However, material success wasn’t his only idol; so was the spiritual success that he had attained. Recall that the encounter began with the rich, young ruler asking Jesus what he must “do to inherit eternal life” (Luke 18.18). The Lord’s initial response was to enumerate several of the Ten Commandments (Luke 18.20) to which the young man responded, “All these I have kept from my youth” (Luke 18.21). There’s no doubting the young man’s sincerity, for even Jesus loved his zeal (see Mark 10.21). However, this man’s spiritual success had become an idol that kept him from following the Lord. He had already “done” a lot and now he wanted to know if there was anything else to “do”. But Jesus didn’t give him something to do; He showed the young man what he must become.

Our True Potential

We began our examination of material success by discussing potential; we deceive ourselves into worshiping an idol by thinking that we are only reaching our potential. Well, misconceptions about our true potential are also the root cause of making spiritual success into an idol. We, like the rich, young ruler, think that the fulfillment of our spiritual potential is to obey the commands of God. For the rich, young ruler it was a matter of keeping the Mosaic Law, for us it’s following the commands found in the New Testament:

• We are baptized (Acts 2.38; Mark 16.16).
• We worship regularly (Hebrews 10.24-25).
• We give regularly (1Corinthians 16.2).
• We resist the devil (James 4.7).
• We confess our failings (1John 1.8-9).

And like the rich, young ruler, we are sincere in wanting to do the Father’s will. So, if we find a command the Lord gives, we will do our best to keep it. And the more we follow His commands, the more we start to feel good about ourselves. We’re followers of God; we are doing what He says; if we find something else He says we should do, we will do that too! But that spiritual success has become an idol because it’s keeping us from reaching our true potential.

What is our true potential? Consider that the rich, young ruler first addressed Jesus as “Good Teacher” (Luke 18.18) and then Jesus then pointed out that only God is good (Luke 18.19). This was not a rebuke of the young man, or a denial of being equal with the Father, rather Jesus was pointing the young man to an important truth: to speak of Jesus as “good” is to say that He shares the same qualities as the Father. Now, consider that Jesus called this man to not only sell his possessions, but to follow Him (Luke 18.22). This man’s true potential wasn’t limited to following the commands of God, it was to follow Jesus in becoming like God!

Both the old and new testaments declare that our Father is good and that His goodness is seen in His gifts and provision (see Psalm 85.12; James 1.17; Luke 1.53; 11.13). Furthermore, the purpose of the Law was to help men become like God (Leviticus 11.44-45). Thus, the Scriptures declared that giving to the poor was a sign of true righteousness (Psalm 112.9; Proverbs 29.7) because to give generously was to act like the Father. The rich, young ruler may have kept many of the Lord’s commands (Luke 18.19), but to be like the Father, to truly follow Jesus, would require more than surface level obedience. He needed to “sell all that you have and distribute to the poor… and come, follow me” (Luke 18.22).

Destroying The Idol Of Spiritual Success

The story of the rich, young ruler is a sad one because his idols of success prevented him from following the Lord. Thus, this young man would never reach his true potential. If we are to avoid making the same mistake, we must rid ourselves of the idol of spiritual success. And the first step in destroying this idol is to allow God to show us our true potential. Note these Scriptures:

“You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.” (Matthew 5:48, ESV)

“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.” (2 Corinthians 5:17, ESV)

“and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness.” (Ephesians 4:24, ESV)

“and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its creator.” (Colossians 3:10, ESV)

“but as he who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct,” (1 Peter 1:15, ESV)

“His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence,” (2 Peter 1:3, ESV)

Yes, following the Lord requires that we obey the commands of our King (Matthew 28.20), but the aim of those commandments isn’t so that we can sit back at the end of the day and feel good as we check-off boxes. The purpose of His commands is that we reach our full potential: becoming perfect as our heavenly Father is perfect.

Once we see our true potential we can begin practicing authentic righteousness and holiness (Ephesians 4.24). Let’s examine Paul’s instructions to the Ephesians to see what this should look like in our lives…

• It’s not enough to make sure that we don’t lie or curse, we need to use our mouths for truth and edification (4.25,29).
• We don’t work to only provide for ourselves and our families, but so that we can share with others (4.28).
• Our relationships are defined by how the Lord treats us (4.31-32).
• Morality isn’t defined by any societal standard, but by our love for God and desire to imitate Him (5.1-5).
• How we use our time reflects Spirit filled lives. Such lives are devoted to understanding His will, edifying others, giving thanks and practicing submission (5.15-21).

The young man asked Jesus what he must “do to inherit eternal life” (Luke 18.18). The only thing he needed to “do” was follow Jesus. Following Jesus would result in “treasure in heaven” (Luke 18.22) and “eternal life” (Luke 18.30). Idols of success cannot provide either. Let’s resolve to lay our idols down so that we can faithfully follow our Lord.