The audio for this devotional is not available for now, but you can have your device read it to you.
Reading options
Verse:Thus says the LORD: “Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, Let not the mighty man glory in his might, Nor let the rich man glory in his riches.” —Jeremiah 9:23
One of the greatest challenges in life is how to combine success with humility. One person who seemed to understand this balance was the race car driver Juan Manuel Fangio, born on June 24, 1911, in Balcarce, Argentina.
During the 1950s, Fangio won the Formula One World Championship five times.54 His career was shaped largely by his motto: “You must always believe you will become the best, but you must never believe you have done.” Lionel Messi, one of the most successful soccer players ever, was born on June 24, 1987, in Rosario, Argentina, and is extremely skilled and very well paid. Messi won the Ballon d’Or award —soccer’s highest prize— more often than anyone else. Commenting in MoneyWeek magazine, Messi stated: “Money is not a motivating factor. Money doesn’t thrill me or make me play better because there are benefits to being wealthy. I’m just happy with a ball at my feet.
My motivation comes from playing the game I love.
If I wasn’t paid to be a professional footballer, I would willingly play for nothing.” Whether we are active in sports or in any other human endeavor, we should always ask ourselves, “At the bottom line, what motivates my behavior? Why am I trying to be better than everybody else?” According to Jeremiah 9:23, there is nothing wrong with being “wise,” “mighty,” or even “rich,” as long as it does not become an obsession and a source of self-exaltation. According to Ellen White, “men are not [to] be exalted as great and wonderful. It is God who is to be magnified.” And “self-surrender is the substance of the teachings of Christ.”58 Growing in Christ means becoming less self-centered and more Christ-centered. This means that we should never consider ourselves stars that make our own light but planets that reflect the wonderful light of Christ, the “Sun of Righteousness” (Malachi 4:2). All our skills and achievements should bring glory and honor to God, the Creator and Sustainer of our lives. In Paul’s words, “Whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God” (1 Corinthians 10:31).