Chapter 1 A Consecrated Life - Far Eastern Bible College

himself. “It’s all mine to keep,” he thought. His success had got to his
head. It made him feel very high. It gave him a sense of euphoria. He
felt strong because of his wealth. Perhaps he even felt invincible
because of his wealth. In his mind he envisioned himself being well laid
up for the rest of his own life. “Take thine ease, eat, drink, and be
merry,” he told himself.
Everything had gone so well for him so far, and so everything has
got to continue to go well for him, so he assumed. He thought he had
mastered life and earned success, congratulating himself for his good
fortune. That was how proud and self-centred he had become. Notice
how many times this man talked about himself in verses 17–19,
What shall I do, because I have no room . . .. This will I do: I
will pull down my barns, . . . and there will I bestow all my
fruits and my goods. And I will say to my soul . . ..
He referred to himself no less than ten times altogether!
And sadly, that this is the way that the great majority of people in
the world see things today. This kind of planning is very popular,
judging from the number of books, courses and seminars with titles like
“How to Plan and Make Money,” “How to Plan Your Estate,” “How to
Plan Your Career,” and “How to Plan Your Future.” These titles seem to
promise people some kind of winning method or formula that will
absolutely guarantee success. And as you live in a competitive
environment, you may easily get caught up with this worldly wisdom
and spirit of ambitious, self-promoting kind of planning that utterly
excludes God.
When you get your first taste of sweet success in business, and see
how much money you have made, all of a sudden, you feel exalted. You
feel a sense of conquest. You feel as if you are high above the clouds,
that you have made it to the very top. And you say to yourself, “Oh it
feels so nice to be so prosperous and so wealthy. I love it and I want
more of it.” And then you pursue it and confidently plan to make
yourself more and more prosperous, because you want to have more of
that nice exalted feeling of being rich!
54 A Consecrated Life