1. I think we have to learn to read Proverbs in a Christ centered way or we will run into a lot of ethical issues. Proverb’s view of success has to be brought UNDER the hermeneutic of Jesus’ Kingdom ethics, and not be seen as describing those Kingdom ethics. The Gospel is almost NOWHERE in Proverbs, and studying Proverbs outside of a heavy dose of Gospel is a problem. Christ died for all those fools in Proverbs, and God offers them mercy in his Kingdom.

2. “Success” as an idol and “doing good” as a virtue are not the same thing. There is nothing wrong with success. There is something wrong with success as an idol, i.e. replacing the person and truth of Christ with being a “winner” in our subcultures.

3. Academic success is a good example. It can be a good thing or it can be idolatry. That is for the Christian to sort out. I can see both possibilities in my own life and in how I have stressed academics to my children. I’ve learned this year that all my stress on college for one of my children was a mistake. I should have been more like Jesus, who would not have staked so much on college.

4. Jesus is a true revolutionary. Many of us in youth ministry are asked by our churches to produce well behaved, academically successful, “Model” kids for the church to brag about. Jesus is producing disciples willing to cross cultures and plant churches, or to stay here and live a Kingdom lifestyle in Christian communuity to make that possible. We are a witness to Jesus Christ, not middle class values, even the good ones.

If God grants success due to good character, Amen. If a person bypasses some of those things to serve Christ, can we give a louder AMEN?

My son wasn’t considered for many awards at our school because he relates to people like Jesus more than he pursues academic or “subcultural” success as defined by adults here. I am prouder of him than if he had straight A’s. That being said, I haven’t accepted C’s from him when I knew it was because he was LAZY.

It’s a line to walk. Good question

PS Thanks Michael. I read all the time and your ministry here has been a great encouragement to me. I am learning so much.

Yesterday one of my pastors did a fabulous exegesis of Psalm 84 and the songs of ascent–I was very moved–until he concluded by saying, “We’re just pilgrims passing through on our way to our ultimate destination. We just have to hang in there and trust God long enough to make it through this hard life until we can be with God in heaven. Our purpose is to be united with God in eternity…”

Am I off-base to believe our purpose is to make disciples and grow the kingdom of God until Christ returns to establish the fulness of his reign, give us our glorified bodies, and make heaven and earth new?

Not to say that financial success is wrong. But it is a weight, it is something that makes it harder to enter the kingdom of God. Note that Jesus did not say it “may” be hard for a rich person to enter the kingdom of heaven. He said it is hard - period. I suspect many people will find that they have to lay aside their slavery to the American dream of financial “success” and be satisfied with “poverty” in order to truly enter into the kingdom of God. Strangely, it seems less like poverty once one’s priorities have been aligned with heaven’s.

Muldoon