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Big Idea of this Series

Big Idea of this Series. We reflect what we revere …either for our ruin or restoration. We reflect what we revere….

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Big Idea of this Series

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  1. Big Idea of this Series We reflect what we revere…either for our ruin or restoration.

  2. We reflect what we revere… “Every society reproduces its culture – its norms, its underlying assumptions, its modes of organizing experience – in the individual, in the form of personality . . . Jules Henry (anthropologist) noted that ‘Psychosis is the final outcome of all that is wrong with a culture.’” -Christopher Lasch in The Culture of Narcissism

  3. We reflect what we revere… “Every society reproduces its culture – its norms, its underlying assumptions, its modes of organizing experience – in the individual, in the form of personality . . . Jules Henry (anthropologist) noted that ‘Psychosis is the final outcome of all that is wrong with a culture.’” -Christopher Lasch in The Culture of Narcissism One of the idols that is threatening to crush us is “success”.

  4. The crushing pursuit of “success” “To live for the moment is the prevailing passion – to live for yourself, not for your predecessors or posterity. We are fast losing the sense of historical continuity, the sense of belonging to a succession of generations originating in the past and stretching into the future.”

  5. The crushing pursuit of “success” “At the turn of the century (1900s), preachments on success began to stress the will to win. The bureaucratization of the corporate career changed the conditions of self-advancement; ambitious young men now had to compete with their peers for the attention and approval of their superiors . . . Personal magnetism, a quality which supposedly enabled a man to influence and dominate others, became one of the major keys to success . . . The management of interpersonal relations came to be seen as the essence of self-advancement. The captain of industry gave way to the confidence man, the master of impressions. Young men were told that they had to sell themselves in order to succeed.”

  6. The crushing pursuit of “success” “In a society in which the dream of success has been drained of any meaning beyond itself, men have nothing against which to measure their achievements except the achievements of others. Self-approval depends on public recognition and acclaim, and the quality of this approval has undergone important changes in its own right . . . They wish to be not so much esteemed as admired . . . They want to be envied rather than respected . . . What a man does matters less than the fact that he has ‘made it.’ . . .

  7. The crushing pursuit of “success” Worldly success has always carried with it a certain poignancy, an awareness that ‘you can’t take it with you’; but in our time, when success is so largely a function of youth, glamour, and novelty, glory is more fleeting than ever, and those who win the attention of the public worry incessantly about losing it.” -Christopher Lasch in The Culture of Narcissism (1979!!!)

  8. The shallowness of “success”… Politics: • All a form of spectacle Health & Beauty: • All about body image • Shallow minds & souls Parenting: • Who are we most worried about?

  9. The shallowness of “success”… • “The creativity and flexibility required to become a true learner is inhibited by excessive focus on every inch of progress, or lack thereof. It may keep a kid’s nose to the grindstone because she is anxious about her performance, but it certainly does not encourage real love of learning . . . Parents’ anxiety about school performance leads to children who are pressured and anxious, but perhaps most dangerously it also leads to children who are perfectionists.” • –Madeline Levine in The Price of Privilege Politics: • All a form of spectacle Health & Beauty: • All about body image • Shallow minds & souls Parenting: • Who are we most worried about?

  10. The shallowness of “success”… Politics: • All a form of spectacle Health & Beauty: • All about body image • Shallow minds & souls Parenting: • The modern family is the place where the heroine of “success” is first injected into our bloodstream. Achievement: • “Achievement is the alcohol of our time.” (Mary Bell counselor for high-level execs)

  11. Deep idols below the water line

  12. Deep idols below the water line Addictions Work Obsession Eating Disorders Hyper-Controlling

  13. Deep idols below the water line Addictions Work Obsession Eating Disorders Hyper-Controlling SHAME FEAR ISOLATION

  14. Signs of Success Idolatry False sense of security • “The false sense of security comes from deifying our achievement and expecting it to keep us safe from the troubles of life in a way that only God can.” (Keller) Distorted view of yourself • Psalm 135:15-1815 The idols of the nations are silver and gold, made by the hands of men. 16 They have mouths, but cannot speak, eyes, but they cannot see; 17 they have ears, but cannot hear, nor is there breath in their mouths. 18 Those who make them will be like them, and so will all who trust in them. 

  15. Signs of Success Idolatry False sense of security • “The false sense of security comes from deifying our achievement and expecting it to keep us safe from the troubles of life in a way that only God can.” (Keller) Distorted view of yourself • Psalm 135:15-1815 The idols of the nations are silver and gold, made by the hands of men. 16 They have mouths, but cannot speak, eyes, but they cannot see; 17 they have ears, but cannot hear, nor is there breath in their mouths. 18 Those who make them will be like them, and so will all who trust in them.  • Success-addicts really think they can control the opinions of others through their performance and achievements…and they think this is all that really matters…

  16. Signs of Success Idolatry False sense of security • “The false sense of security comes from deifying our achievement and expecting it to keep us safe from the troubles of life in a way that only God can.” (Keller) Distorted view of yourself Your work and life are boring

  17. The Successful Soldier & The Suffering Slave Girl 2 King 5:1  Now Naaman was commander of the army of the king of Aram (modern day Syria). He was a great man in the sight of his master and highly regarded, because through him the LORD had given victory to Aram. He was a valiant soldier…

  18. The Successful Soldier & The Suffering Slave Girl 2 King 5:1  Now Naaman was commander of the army of the king of Aram (modern day Syria). He was a great man in the sight of his master and highly regarded, because through him the LORD had given victory to Aram. He was a valiant soldier… but he had leprosy.

  19. The Successful Soldier & The Suffering Slave Girl 2 Kings 5:2-62 Now bands from Aram had gone out and had taken captive a young girl from Israel, and she served Naaman's wife. 3 She said to her mistress, "If only my master would see the prophet who is in Samaria! He would cure him of his leprosy." 4 Naaman went to his master and told him what the girl from Israel had said. 5 "By all means, go," the king of Aram replied. "I will send a letter to the king of Israel." So Naaman left, taking with him ten talents of silver, six thousand shekels of gold and ten sets of clothing. 6 The letter that he took to the king of Israel read: "With this letter I am sending my servant Naaman to you so that you may cure him of his leprosy."

  20. The Successful Soldier & The Suffering Slave Girl 2 Kings 5:2-62 Now bands from Aram had gone out and had taken captive a young girl from Israel, and she served Naaman's wife. 3 She said to her mistress, "If only my master would see the prophet who is in Samaria! He would cure him of his leprosy." 4 Naaman went to his master and told him what the girl from Israel had said. 5 "By all means, go," the king of Aram replied. "I will send a letter to the king of Israel." So Naaman left, taking with him ten talents of silver, six thousand shekels of gold and ten sets of clothing. 6 The letter that he took to the king of Israel read: "With this letter I am sending my servant Naaman to you so that you may cure him of his leprosy." Naaman did what made sense to him…relied on his “success” to get what he wanted.

  21. The Successful Soldier & The Suffering Slave Girl 2 Kings 5:7 As soon as the king of Israel read the letter, he tore his robes and said, "Am I God? Can I kill and bring back to life? Why does this fellow send someone to me to be cured of his leprosy? See how he is trying to pick a quarrel with me!" • Naaman and the King of Aram had a religious mentality

  22. The Successful Soldier & The Suffering Slave Girl 2 Kings 5:8-138 When Elisha the man of God heard that the king of Israel had torn his robes, he sent him this message: "Why have you torn your robes? Have the man come to me and he will know that there is a prophet in Israel." 9 So Naaman went with his horses and chariots and stopped at the door of Elisha's house. 10Elisha sent a messengerto say to him, "Go, wash yourself seven times in the Jordan, and your flesh will be restored and you will be cleansed." 11 But Naaman went away angryand said,

  23. The Successful Soldier & The Suffering Slave Girl "I thought that he would surely come out to me and stand and call on the name of the LORD his God, wave his handover the spot and cure me of my leprosy. 12 Are not Abana and Pharpar, the rivers of Damascus, better than any of the waters of Israel? Couldn't I wash in them and be cleansed?" So he turned and went off in a rage. 13 Naaman's servants went to him and said, "My father, if the prophet had told you to do some great thing, would you not have done it? How much more, then, when he tells you, 'Wash and be cleansed'!"

  24. The Successful Soldier & The Suffering Slave Girl "I thought that he would surely come out to me and stand and call on the name of the LORD his God, wave his handover the spot and cure me of my leprosy. 12 Are not Abana and Pharpar, the rivers of Damascus, better than any of the waters of Israel? Couldn't I wash in them and be cleansed?" So he turned and went off in a rage. 13 Naaman's servants went to him and said, "My father, if the prophet had told you to do some great thing, would you not have done it? How much more, then, when he tells you, 'Wash and be cleansed'!" Naaman was enraged because he was being treated like a normal guy…with nothing to offer God…the lowest person in the world could wash in a river!!!

  25. The Successful Soldier & The Suffering Slave Girl 2 Kings 5:14-1614 So he went down and dipped himself in the Jordan seven times, as the man of God had told him, and his flesh was restored and became clean like that of a young boy. 15 Then Naaman and all his attendants went back to the man of God. He stood before him and said, "Now I know that there is no God in all the world except in Israel. Please accept now a gift from your servant." 16 The prophet answered, "As surely as the LORD lives, whom I serve, I will not accept a thing." And even though Naaman urged him, he refused. • Naaman found a new affection

  26. The Successful Soldier & The Suffering Slave Girl • “The idol of success cannot just be expelled, it must be replaced. The human heart’s desire for a particular valuable object may be conquered, but its need to have some such object is unconquerable.” (Keller) 2 Kings 5:14-1614 So he went down and dipped himself in the Jordan seven times, as the man of God had told him, and his flesh was restored and became clean like that of a young boy. 15 Then Naaman and all his attendants went back to the man of God. He stood before him and said, "Now I know that there is no God in all the world except in Israel. Please accept now a gift from your servant." 16 The prophet answered, "As surely as the LORD lives, whom I serve, I will not accept a thing." And even though Naaman urged him, he refused. • Naaman found a new affection

  27. The Successful Soldier & The Suffering Slave Girl 2 Kings 5:2-32 Now bands from Aram had gone out and had taken captive a young girl from Israel, and she served Naaman's wife. 3 She said to her mistress, "If only my master would see the prophet who is in Samaria! He would cure him of his leprosy.” • This suffering servant is the ultimate example of successful living in this story. • She foreshadows the Great Suffering Servant (Isaiah 53)

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