Day 1
Keep this Book of the Law always on your lips; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful.
What you call success will drive your day. If riches drive you will soon look for short cuts. The issue of corruption and lack of integrity has gone to the extent that one is thought to be strange if he is straight. Thus, the abnormal has become normal. And the church is swallowed up in, in that process. We have been discussing how to have ethical organizations. I have shared quite a number of testimonies, things that are telling us that we have come to the level where the abnormal is called normal.
A friend of mine who is a CEO of a Christian organization was telling me how they were organizing a conference, people were coming from other countries and needed to be booked in a hotel. They were going to give the hotel more than two million shillings. And one of his assistants asked him, are we not bringing a lot of money to this hotel? There must be something in it for us. Let me take you to the manager.
In surprise my friend retorted…Just a moment. … young man what did you say? It sounds like it is normal, that if you bring a lot of business you get something for yourself. But that’s open corruption. But it is no longer corruption in Kenya. Are you getting the difference? It is normal to ask, I have done all this for you, what will you do for me?
Yet if ethical it is actually very clear that as a representative of the organization, when you go to the hotel to negotiate for a conference, you look for a discount, isn’t it? And the discount goes to the organization booking. The staff booking is not the one paying. You are on salary. So, you are supposed to negotiate on behalf of your organization and push them as far as you can push them for lower rate. But now, you want to stop pushing them so that they can give you something under the table. It must be a very questionable in heaven.
You compromise yet you have no difficulty after that standing before the pulpit and preaching, and you have just come from a wrong place doing the wrong thing?
Another story, a friend of mine told me he was doing research and he carried a son of one of my agemates as an assistant. The son is a boy he mentors in his twenties. And he told him they go together. And because he is a Christian born again boy, with the father being somebody my friend respects, he was in shock when the boy came on the final day out of the hotel, with a strange request. The boy came to his room and said, sir, your bag is bigger than mine. I think you can help me. He said, what is the problem? There is a painting in my room and it can’t fit in my bag. He said, what do you mean? I mean exactly that. Your bag is big enough.
So, he said, young man, why would you want to steal? I am not stealing. What you have paid them is enough to cover this cost also. It sounds logical. But the man tells he had never imagined a born again boy, active in the youth, cannot see what is wrong with stealing a painting from his room. So he said, why would you ever do such a thing? The boy said, I don’t understand you. In our house we use a camera that my father came with from Germany. He tells us he got it from the hotel, in the room. And we have used it. Every time the family goes on a visit, it is the camera we use. Surely, mine is only a painting.
He could not see why my friend was bringing up a big problem about nothing. Are you getting what I am driving at? That we are living a contradictory life and it is not something that bothers us at all. It doesn’t quite bother us in any way yet we are Christians. We can do something that doesn’t make sense and because society has accepted it, our standard is no longer the Bible, it is then acceptable. Like taking something out of your work place is something normal. It is acceptable.
Day 2
He holds success in store for the upright, he is a shield to those whose walk is blameless
Some time back we were running a career day in Masinde Muliro University. And we were about twenty something professionals. So, we normally divide students into groups, then in the end we form a panel. It is a full day career day. We start early in the morning and finish towards four o’clock.
One of the professionals introduced himself as chief finance officer for one of the parastatals. Then he went on to say, that’s not the only thing I do. I run this other business and I run that other firm, and I run this one too. So, during question time, a student wrote a question on this. You ask when I am still in employment how can I run a business? And I found it a very tough question because clearly, the impression the young men got as they are finishing university is that you can be doing your full-time job and running business at the same time.
My comment was, it is possible to run your business even when you are employed if you run it at night, after work. Because that is your own time, you can do with it whatever you want. But the minute you are running it from your office, during office hours, you are a thief, not of money but of time. And so, it is not possible for an ethical person to do that.
Now, I knew I am stepping on toes, because even those reading this are many people who are employed and they are running their businesses successfully during office hours. And they are still here with us in fellowship. They don’t see anything wrong. They argue that Only lazy people do not run business during office hours. In other words, the ones that are trying to obey the Bible are regarded as naïve, lazy, useless citizens of Kenya. The one who is literally earning a full salary for half work is the one that is recommended by society.
These days people are more afraid of poverty than they are afraid of going to hell. So that the thing people fear most is being poor. Jesus set an example, our job is not to set another one but to follow his example. That’s why when we are called to be salt of the world, we are not called to become like the world, to taste like the world but to change the taste of the world.
Two issues for am of integrity. Number one, you would become a disciple and Jesus remains your master in every area. Number two and very, very important, you realign your definition of success to what the master would accept as success.
You know, a lot of us the trouble we have is our definition of success. Let me tell you, once you define success in one way, your life will reflect that definition. If you are a Masaai and you define success as having many cows, you will not want a few. You can argue with the Masaai that these three cows are producing more milk that three hundred but he still sees you as poor, because the number is what matters.
Definition determines what else you are going to do in your life. And so question really is, what is your destiny? What is your definition of success? And how has it affected the way you operate?
A story is told of this protégé …a young man under tutorage from a master musician …and he was having his very first concert. People turned up and the young man played well. People clapped and even gave him a standing ovation. But the guy still looked gloomy. He didn’t seem to be excited despite such a high performance for such a young boy. At the end relatives and others ran to him and said, what is wrong with you? This is one of your most successful days and you don’t seem excited about all the clappings and ululations of the people.
He said, you don’t understand music. My master trainer was sitting at the very back, and as you were getting excited, I could see his face. He was not happy with my piano work. You, you can be forgiven. You have no idea what good piano playing is. He is the trainer and he knows I did not do a good job. How would I then be rejoicing?
Many of us unlike the boy are acting for the gallery, not for the master. And that’s why we feel great, we feel such success as we are being shouted and everybody is so happy with us. Throw your eyes instead to the Master. Is the Master regarding it as success or not?
What matters is not spectators. They don’t even know the truth. The Master does. And if He is not happy with you, it does not matter how happy all of us are with you, you are still a failure. What matters is the one who set the life exam has given you a tick or not. So it will really be a very important thing to ask yourself, what is your definition of success. Who evaluates your success? Once those two questions are answered, it will be easy for you to see clearly whether you have success or not.
Day 3
Keep this Book of the Law always on your lips; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful.
My prayer is, even as we spend the little moment discussing this, that you will be able to tell what defines life and accomplishment for you as a Christian and how does it differ from the people of the world. And how your success contributes to your eternal destiny. How do positions, your new title, your privileges, your power, how do you see them contributing to your eternal destiny?
Because you see, if your success is not contributing for eternal purposes, chances are it is just transitory success. What do you need to give up, to be the person God wants you to be? As you look at yourself, are you within the way to be the success God wants you to be. Let me repeat the question; what is success?
Most people will define success in terms of: I have achieved a goal. Question mark, who set the goal in the first place? It is true you have achieved the goal, but who set the goal? The late Phoebe Kigira gave a story of a lady whose husband always bought ramshackle 2nd hand cars. You know ramshackle cars always needing repair, more in the garage than out. But for the first time they got an old, but newer one. It is old but it is actually new to the country. As they were going to Nyeri for the first time in the newer car to visit their rural home, remember the wife is not driving, it is the man driving, and she doesn’t tell the husband how excited she is to be going in the old new car.
In her own mind, she is in a competition. The husband is just driving, enjoying himself as he is driving. When they reached Nyeri, she told the husband, what a nice car we have! We were only overtaken by two cars! That’s when the husband realized she was counting. They were in a competition. So the husband asked, why didn’t you tell me? Even those ones could not have overtaken us.
Many of us are in a race, in a competition with no clarity of who will do the evaluation. And even the people you are competing with are not aware you are actually competing with them. You go to visit another home and your wife insists on taking things to the kitchen. The host says, no, no, no. Let me escort you. She goes to the kitchen and discovers a new microwave. On your home she says, it is not as good as ours. You realize the visit was an evaluation ceremony as to whether your friends are doing as good as you. If not, on the way out you get the lecture of your life. What kind of a husband are you? Did you see what that man has bought? The fridge is double ours. Surely, you are a failure.
Now, the husband wonders, where was the competition? If you want a proper competition, say, on your marks, get set go then start together. But if you are competing with people and they are not aware, even if you win, you haven’t won.
A friend of mine told me, people are in a rat race. Ever heard of it? The trouble with joining a rat race is you can’t win. Only the rats will win. That’s why it is called a rat race. So, you are not very wise to be joining a rat race unless you yourself are a rat.
Day 4
Job 5:12
He thwarts the plans of the crafty, so that their hands achieve no success
It is important to define where are you going. What is your success? You know, if you are on a road and somebody is just leisurely going to the next shopping centre, you are on the same road but somebody else is going to DR Congo. You are on the same road, but you can’t tell others destination. So you cannot start copying each other. This car is not in a hurry. He just wants to go to the next village. You, you have a long journey. So, you can’t say that, but I have competed. My car is better than his. No, if he was going to Congo, he would also have been faster than you. So the critical thing if you don’t hear anything else I say is that none of us has the same race with another. Even your wife and you are not on the same … because you are different. You met her already an adult. Her race had already been started. You can’t say, I am doing better than you. Against which standards? Who is the master? Who gave you the direction?
So, when you talk about success in achieving the goal, ask which goal? Somebody else said, success is acquiring wealth. What is wealth? How much wealth is enough wealth? Because if you are a billionaire, we no longer think about you. There are many trillionaires, especially in shillings. I don’t know what you would be talking about.
And you know something? However wealthy you become, there is always somebody wealthier beyond you. And even if in the fortune book you are the top, it is temporary. You have no idea what the other guy is currently doing. So,to enter into that issue that you define success by wealth,is not wise. It is only you and the income tax people who know exactly how much you own, and other people, don’t know it and how can they find out.
So how would you be thinking you are more successful than your neighbor? And how are you comparing? Because your car is better than his? What about if he doesn’t value cars? That’s why he is in a Volkswagen but he is still a billionaire. Does that make you better? No.
Another says Oh, I am better. Why? I have ten children and you have only two. Now, what about if I deliberately never planned to have more than five? Are you getting my point? That God has given each one of us a journey to go, and it is not compared with anybody else. You are not successful because you are better than another
So, the critical thing is, who is your master, because if He is your Master He is the one who will call the shots. He is the one who will define success.
Another one says, success is having prestige. That is even more difficult to measure because unfortunately prestige is fame and people putting you on a pedestal. Unfortunately, they put you there today, then they remove you tomorrow. In case of Jesus, in his final week, the same week, one day they are all running praising him, even putting their clothes down,for his donkey to walk on shouting hosanna, hosanna in the highest. On Friday, not even the end of same week, they say, crucify him, crucify him. Same crowd. Remember Jerusalem was not a big town by that time. … So, the guys that were saying hosanna, and even putting their clothes down are likely to be the same ones on Friday saying, crucify him. Is that what you are measuring success as?
The fact that every party in town you are in it, nobody can leave you out of the party makes you a success? Does that make you famous? Is that a measure of success?
Others, they measure success by favour. But the question is, what is favour? How do you define it? Whose favour? The fact that your boss favoured you? You know there are some people who favour you and you are very embarrassed. What could he have said?
Now, in our days in the university, I don’t think it is true now, but in the seventies, if a Christian girl was approached by a non-Christian however successful, they got very offended. What could he see in me that would relate with him? These days when a Christian girl is offered a lift in a Mercedes, she says, wow, I now know am beautiful. But in those days, you could not imagine that a non-Christian can even think that you would have anything to do with one another. So that when you are talking about favour, it is the question of, whose favour are we describing? The favour that matters is the favour of the Master.
Another one defines success as status and power. But there will be always others with higher status.
Day 5
Ecclesiastes 4:4
And I saw that all toil and all achievement spring from one person’s envy of another. This too is meaningless, a chasing after the wind.
What about the world? The world defines successful people as people who enjoy the good life. You know so and so are such a success! They are enjoying the good life. But what is the good life? You know, a study was done that explained once you go beyond a million dollars, the possibility of a successful marriage decreases proportional to the increase above a million dollars income. So they are having the good life, no wonder they are divorcing. Are you getting the point?
So how do you define the good life? Or is it that they are financially secure. I don’t know how you say emotionally secure, financially secure? Financially secure means hitting the kind of income you wanted. But unfortunately when you want this, as soon as you hit, you want even more. So, the people you are standing here thinking, haiya, these are secure they may not feel it themselves. Even if this business collapses, that one collapses, that one collapses, they will still have another one. So you think they are very successful. But in their mind they want more. So to get less they will commit suicide. And you think that’s a joke.
There was a year when some student who had a B+ in the national exam committed suicide. She was a girl. She was in the newspaper. She wanted an A. Many people are wishing they have a B plus because that’s a direct university entry. But when she saw her result is a B plus, she just committed suicide because her success was only defined if it was an A without a sign. So, a B plus was so bad, I can’t be alive. I must die.
Therefore, when you talk about financially secure, it is a moving mirage that you cannot reach. What about defining success as emotionally secure, or being surrounded by admirers and enjoying the fruits of their labour. The example is emulated. You say somebody is successful if the example is emulated and the accomplishments are noticed. Then they are successful?
You know all these things are dealing with the here and now of this life. And yet as Christians we know the period of time you live on earth has no comparison to eternity. It is just a temporary thing. Even in many churches, the definition of success is in terms of numbers. Our church is very successful. Why? It has quantity. Don’t worry about the quality. Oh, we are successful. Why? The dollars that come, how we are able to raise our money. And yet there will be no money needed in heaven. So, after the church has raised all the money, then the trumpet sounds, you leave it here. You go. And you might not go to heaven anyway because you are tied to the money.
But you know, measured by these worldly standards, Jesus was a failure. He had very little material possessions. How do you describe such a person? A failure. He did not even have a home. How do you describe the homeless? Failure. He was rejected by most people and was even hated by some. He was not popular. By the time he is on the cross, even the ones who were his friends were hiding and others were doubting him. If failure was to be described, Jesus was the epitome of failure. The religious leaders of the time despised him. Even his friends and those closest to him finally deserted him. He was accused and found guilty of things He did not do. He was beaten. You sympathize with such a person. When you hear somebody is in Kamiti prison for something he never did, you don’t call him a success, you even think God has forgotten him. Wouldn’t you agree? He was beaten, spit on, cursed, mocked. And He suffered terribly and died the most horrible kind of death known to man at that time; death on the cross. There were other ways of killing people, only crooks were killed on the cross.
The world knew, this man has actually failed. But you know, if you look in terms of eternity, Jesus is the greatest success. He was a human being on earth, ever got, in God’s eyes, the redemption and salvation of all mankind was accomplished through his Son, Jesus Christ, seeming failure. Isn’t that success? By God’s grace and great love for you and I, He sent Jesus to die for us.
The Father sent Jesus to pay for our sins. And now the gift of a restored personal relationship with God and eternal life can be ours. Or because of Jesus Christ and his seeming failure.
You know to be fair, the world is living a great lie. They say If you work hard enough you can be anything you want to be. We even tell our children, we are Christians but we tell our children that, isn’t it? In other words, life is under your control. It is yours for the taking. It is American dream. Or was it the Kenyan dream? Now, you need to understand clearly there is nothing more untrue than that statement. That If you work hard enough, you can be anything you want to be? That way then you become your own God. Would you agree with me?
Day 6
Ecclesiastes 2:11
Yet when I surveyed all that my hands had done and what I had toiled to achieve, everything was meaningless, a chasing after the wind; nothing was gained under the sun.
And a lot of us call ourselves great but if you were to check the truth, a lot of who we are is the favour of God. Would you agree with me? You sat for an exam, for us in our days, in the sixties it was called KPE. And it was one day only. All the papers were done in one day. If you make a mistake of having a running stomach that day , just mistake, and you just failed. You, you never diarrhoea. That’s why you are here. And yet you keep thinking what a clever boy you are! Yet it was the diarrheaing principle that determined whether you passed or not.
Or you say, what a wonderful marriage you have! But just remember how you met that girl. You didn’t manufacture her. Did you? God brought circumstances that finally brought you together. Mine came from Makerere and I was in the University of Nairobi. It required a presidential decree to get a wife. Now, you need to understand to sit there thinking what a successful marriage we had with Rebecca have almost fifty years is to forget the miracle that required Kenyatta to issue a presidential decree for me to meet Rebecca. And if I never married Rebecca, our marriage would not be what it is today. It is only is because Rebecca and John met people who could easily work together with similar aspirations and going the same direction. What a wonderful marriage!
I don’t know why people keep giving me credit for good marriages! Not remembering it required a presidential decree. Now, it is important to start understanding clearly it is a total lie to imagine you are self-made. You always have God making you.
And that’s why it is important to ask yourself, what is your definition of success. Success if wrongly defined as being the master of your own destiny is certainly taking you away from eternity. New York pastor, Tim Keller, in his book, Counterfeit Goals describes the success idol in these words; more than other idols, personal success and achievement lead to a sense that we ourselves are god, that our security and values rest in our own wisdom, strength and performance, to be the very best at what we do, to be at the top of the heap means no one is like you, you are supreme, therefore you are god.
So, you need to start asking definition of success at a very early age. Otherwise, everyday you are progressing to becoming a god. Before you go very far, stop and ask yourself, do I really have a definition of success, that I can wholly attribute it to my personal effort?
Maybe You have a wonderful son! He is doing so well. Therefore, you are a success? You know, most of us my agemates, now, we have reached where there is nothing professional to talk about. So we talk about our children. In fact, you say, my name is John Ng’ang’a but I am the father of the president. Meaning, basically, I may not be a president but please note Iam father if one. We define ourselves by our children.
Now, but let’s tell the truth. There are some people who got married the same time with you, yet they have no children. Therefore, you are a success because of your son? Your son is God’s child. So, I think God’s measure of your success is what matters. And God’s measure of success involves our obedience and faithfulness to him.
So, when we talk about, am I success? The answer should be based on, did I play the way the master pianist taught me to play? Am I success according to him? Did I obey God in all ways? And people out there maybe saying what a success I am, but that does not matter. If I displayed God and did that which never honoured him, to God’s view, since I did not do it out of obedience, I am a total failure.
Day 7
Job 14
21 If their children are honored, they do not know it; if their offspring are brought low, they do not see it.22 They feel but the pain of their own bodies and mourn only for themselves.”
Some argue, the end justifies the means. Whatever he says that he never knew God. In God’s estimation, He is more interested in the means than the end. You but God I tithed? No, no, no. How did you do it? I stole but tithed some of it.A man called King Saul had a successful mission, killed the Amalekites, but he made an amendment to the instructions. So he left the king alive, he left some goats alive, and he was actually sacrificing some of them. So, Samuel comes and says, wait a minute…. What do I hear? No, no, no. Don’t worry priest. I have killed all them. these are left for sacrifice.
He was finally told; you think God is interested in sacrifices rather than obedience? No. So success, my sister, will be, were you obedient in the way to reaching where you are today? If you are not obedient, please hear me. According to God’s assessment, you are a failure. You are a success if you obey.
Number two, if you are faithful in doing what God asked you to do? You know a lot of people feel like whenever you talk about success defined by God, it will lead you to laziness because after all, it is inshallah, God wills attitude. Now, in God’s ways, He does not measure just the end, how did you get there? That’s why you cannot be a Christian and lazy. Lazy Christian, the two words cannot go together. The moment you are a Christian, everything you do, you do for God. And because you are doing it for God, you can’t do it lazily. You are not working for yourself, you are not working to become rich, you are working to honour God. Can you be lazy about it? No.
God is saying, take care of the means, I will take care of the end. He will certainly produce the product He needs. He wants you to be faithful in what you are doing. You see, you must have obedience and faithfulness to him, regardless of opposition and personal cost.
I was discussing with another group about integrity. Integrity is very expensive but very fulfilling. The choice is yours. God requires integrity as you pursue whatever he has called you to do. Whether or not we are being loyal to him in our personal relationship with him in our life matters. Whether we are accomplishing his goals and purpose for our lives matters. In each case, then you will still be successful if you stick with it and obey God fully.
Don’t worry what your spouse thinks about you. In God’s definition of success, are you successful? If you know you are not, I would encourage you to, admit before God that you haven’t lived your life so that you would be able to get his type of success. You played to the gallery than playing to the judge… Just ask him to forgive you, then ask him to re-channel your life, to redefine what success is and then pursue it.
May God truly make us different so that we will have an impact as salt and light to those who will see us living so totally different from them.They will be attracted to God. The Word says when we lift Him up, He will draw men to Himself