How would you stay grounded and humble as you are prospering in life?
Which one describes your situation?
- You’re now a top leader of a reputable organization or in the political sphere.
- You are well known in your field of study/work and you have extensive experience and academic qualifications to support it.
- You’re now a very influential leader.
- Your video went viral and you’ve become an overnight success.
- You have thousands of followers on IG and brands are seeking you out.
- You’ve blossomed into all the “right” places and are constantly admired and flattered by many.
- Your income is more than you have ever dreamed it will be.
Money, power, influence, knowledge & beauty can be sources of blessings as well as they can lead to the demise of many Christians. We can subtly place our significance in them rather than in Christ. When the focus changes, we also change.
“For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride of life—is not from the Father but is from the world. And the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever.” – 1 John 2:16-17
These are some changes that might occur if you are not careful:
- When you are around people who do not know who you are, you feel a need to enlighten them.
- You get upset if someone leaves out your title when he/she is addressing you.
- You expect your family, friends and acquaintances to treat you with greater respect and honour.
- Your advice should always be sought after and taken seriously. If that is not the case, you’re not a happy camper.
- You begin to dress more seductively and immodestly. Your sex appeal must be shown to the world through social media. You crave comments like “you’re so hot”, “sexy”, “you’re on fire” and the like.
- Slowly, you gravitate toward people who will support your new mindset and spend less time with people who will oppose the “new and improved” you.
- You brag about every achievement because deep within you, you are looking for approval and applause from those around you, especially the naysayers because you proved them wrong.
When I reflect on my own life, I can see that becoming a missionary straight out of college was a safeguard for me. God was protecting me from ME! He was setting my foundation to stay grounded in the future. Honestly, if God had left me to follow my own path, I would have been a very different person today – materialistic, manipulative, egotistic, vain, proud, etc.
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As my popularity and influence grows as a blogger & vlogger, what am I doing to keep myself grounded? Perhaps these tips will help you as well.
Here are 6 tips to keep you grounded when you are rising:
1. It’s not about you.
You and I have only one main purpose and that purpose is centered in Christ. You are simply a servant of Christ trying to faithfully accomplish all the good works that God has assigned to you before you were even born. As such, all you do should point people to the Lord of your life, Jesus Christ.
For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them. – Ephesians 2:10
My guardrail: I remind myself that my main goal is to help people to follow Christ wholeheartedly. It’s not about me.
2. Put God first continually.
As the demands for your time and expertise increase, it is very tempting to replace your time with the Lord with activity. With consistent neglect over time, you will begin to change and make subtle compromises that are contrary to your faith in Jesus.
Conversely, if you were to make your special time with God a priority, He will guide your steps; He will keep you sane when the public attacks come; He will give you wisdom beyond your experience, knowledge or skill to handle difficult and stressful circumstances; you will stay focus on God’s purpose and not get derailed by your own vanity; and so much more.
My guardrail: I will meet with God and be grounded in the His Word every day.
3. Surround yourself with mature Christian friends who are not star-struck.
You need people in your life who are both spiritually-grounded and sober in their thinking. Friends and relatives who are simply opportunists are not the best persons to be your advisors. Their advice may be warped and crafted to just please you (or themselves), and not necessarily to honor God.
Ideally, you want people who will pray for you; give you sound advice; and tell you the truth regardless of your popularity, stock portfolio or academic qualifications. If your closest advisors are foolish people (like the peers of King Solomon’s son King Rehoboam), your demise is imminent. Read 1 Kings 12.
Whoever walks with the wise becomes wise, but the companion of fools will suffer harm. Proverbs 13:20
My guardrail: I will keep myself surrounded by mature Christian friends who will always be honest with me and give me constructive feedback.
4. Resist flattery and emotional entanglements with the wrong men.
For the single woman, all of a sudden, you may get attention from more men (single and married) who will attempt to full your head with flattery. Nothing is wrong with a man giving a woman sincere compliments, but do not be deceived and become emotionally entangled by a man who will not be good for you. Non-Christian men and “shoddy” Christian men may begin to pursue you.
Some of them are extremely determined even after repeated rejection. But remember, my sister, you are trusting God for a genuine Christian husband who is becoming more Christlike. Therefore, don’t allow your heart to be tied up.
My guardrail: I will not naively or secretly build a relationship with another man. Emotional adultery is where it starts. Also, I will inform my husband when I believe a man is trying to pursue me.
5. Prioritize family and close friendships.
This life is very short and we were made for relationships. Do you find yourself neglecting your key relationships because the demand for your business, ministry, or public portfolio has become intense? The truth be told … many of us actually love the adrenaline and the sense of significance that we feel from our success. However, neglecting your most important relationships is damaging to you and to them.
Some questions to consider:
- Are you mentally and emotionally present when your family or friends are talking with you? Or are you constantly paying more attention to what’s happening on your phone or other device?
- Have you been too busy to attend family gatherings?
- Do your close family members often complain that you’re too busy and you have no time for them?
- Are you so focused on being efficient and productive that you miss opportunities to have meaning heart-to-heart connections with your family?
My guardrail: I will attend to my marriage and my family above “Petals Bloom”.
6. Choose humility.
In order to stay grounded, you must choose humility every day. You have to keep at the forefront of your mind that all your accomplishments, skills, influence, knowledge and beauty comes from God. A woman with a proud heart will seek applause for herself instead of using the aforementioned blessings to glorify Him and mankind.
In essence, pride seeks to draw attention to yourself and put you on a pedestal to be admired by as many people as possible. It certainly feels good because it feeds our flesh! For each person, conceited pride rears its ugly head in different ways.
A few subtle evidences of pride:
- You get offended when you are not addressed by your title.
- You have to show-off your wealth, your body, your beauty, your accomplishments and the like so that everyone will be impressed and desire to be you, look like you or achieve what you have.
- When someone does not know who you are, you scorn their ignorance.
Your boasting should be in God and not in yourself.
My guardrail: How I dress, what I say and what I post on social media must show viewers, Christians and non-Christians, that I am loyal to the Kingdom of God. I will not dress immodestly to get more likes or comments to fan my vanity.
To recap, here are 6 tips to keep you grounded when you are rising:
- It’s not about you.
- Put God first continually.
- Surround yourself with mature Christian friends who are not star-struck.
- Resist flattery and emotional entanglements with the wrong men.
- Prioritize family and close friends.
- Choose humility.
Summary
What guardrails have you put in place to protect yourself and the name of Christ as you gain more wealth, expertise, power, fame or influence? What has helped you to stay grounded? Comment below. I look forward to hearing from you so that I can learn from you.
#madeforlove
Thanks for dropping by!
With love & laughter,
Kimberly Garth
Other Helpful Resources:
The One Thing That All Successful People Have in Common
6 Signs That He’s Not Really Into You
Disclosure
“Petals Bloom is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com.”
Recommended Books:
Ordering Your Private World by Gordon MacDonald
Atomic Habits: Tiny Changes Remarkable Results by James Clear
