In life and work, leaders can often chase after ideas that have no truth in reality. Out of a desire to find a shortcut, or achieve a personal or professional goal, we can latch on to one or more lies of corporate culture. This self-deceit can change the way we lead and act toward employees, family, friends, as we charge after a phantom disguised as success.

The Bible warns us about all kinds of lies, professional, personal and spiritual. Romans 16:17-18 cautions, “I appeal to you, brothers, to watch out for those who cause divisions and create obstacles contrary to the doctrine that you have been taught; avoid them. For such persons do not serve our Lord Christ, but their own appetites, and by smooth talk and flattery they deceive the hearts of the naive.” How many leaders have bought in to smooth talk and flattery, to their own detriment? In our culture, lies are everywhere, especially around the ideas of success in work, wealth and life. Here are a few of the most popular lies we believe:

The lie that success will bring you happiness. Perhaps the biggest lie that leaders believe is that wealth will lead to being happy. “Money won’t make you happy,” said author Zig Ziglar, “but everybody wants to find out for themselves.”[1] In the quest for satisfaction in life, many leaders are actively pursuing money as the sole means to that end. Though the phrase “money can’t buy happiness” is widely accepted, a recent survey found that 79% of Americans actually believe that money will make them happier.[2]

This idea was clarified in 1950 by German philosopher Jean-Jacques Rousseau, who wrote, “Money can buy material things, but real happiness must be truly earned.” Scripture confirms this view as accurate. Ecclesiastes 5:10 teaches, “Whoever loves money never has enough; whoever loves wealth is never satisfied with their income. This too is meaningless.” Though we all love creature comforts, the pursuit of money in order to have more stuff is self-defeating. We will begin to love the money more and more. The Bible’s end-game on this is also clearly recorded: “For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil…” (1 Timothy 6:10).

The lie that overnight success is real. Step online for five minutes and you’ll likely run across an ad or social media pitch promising that you can double your earnings, buy that jet, build that house or pay off all of your debts overnight. After all, some guy has a system, and he’s shooting a video on his iPhone sitting at an impressive backyard pool, so it must be real. Don’t fall for it. Most people who pour energy into a get-rich-quick scheme lack experience in the line of work they are pursuing, and are convinced by promises like “guaranteed” or “risk-free”.[3]

Real success takes hard work, determination, defining then focusing on your goal, assistance from and collaboration with others, learning from mistakes, the right external economic circumstances—and likely years of failures, setbacks and tangents along the way. Proverbs 14:23-24 details the doctrine of effort paying off: “All hard work brings a profit, but mere talk leads only to poverty. The wealth of the wise is their crown, but the folly of fools yields folly.”

The lie that success will make your problems go away. Michael Ellsberg of Forbes Magazine details how success makes your life more complex, not less. He writes, “To believe that you don’t have problems at all on account of their success, wealth and fame (and to believe that if you achieve these things, your life will be a perfect dream-come-true) are misguided concepts. And, they are misguided in ways that actually lower the chances you’ll achieve/increase these things in your own life, if you are seeking them. Because they're based on a totally incorrect vision of what fame, success, and wealth actually are.”[4]

Ellsberg explains that wealth is not numbers in a bank account, but rather the ability to command resources voluntarily. Controlling a “personal empire”, however, is incredibly complex. It is a constant demand on your time and demands relationships between friends, acquaintances, even strangers, be managed. You must closely guard against the takers in your life—energy vampires, moochers, leeches, parasites—versus honest connections. All famous and wealthy individuals struggle on a daily basis with the question, who are my true friends? So then, success merely moves you from survival-type problems (paying for food, shelter) to a different set of problems, which will likely be more stressful for you, not less. 1 Timothy 6:10 concludes with a warning on success: “…Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.”

Stop believing the lies. Colossians 2:8 instructs, “See to it that no one takes you captive by philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition, according to the elemental spirits of the world, and not according to Christ.” The modern business parable we follow that says the same thing to a leader: “If it appears too good to be true, it is.” The lies of leadership exploit our emotions—greed, envy, pride—and most often, self-esteem. We want desperately to be successful. Instead practice Christ-esteem, putting your self-worth not in what you might accomplish on your own, but in Jesus Christ as the solution to success and meaning for life. Cling faithfully to the promise of Hebrews 10:35-36: “So do not throw away your confidence; it will be richly rewarded. You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what he has promised.”

[1] https://www.entrepreneur.com/leadership/the-7-biggest-lies-we-believe-about-success/280317

[2] https://www.forbes.com/sites/joshuabecker/2022/04/26/79-of-americans-believe-more-money-will-make-them-happier-heres-why-theyre-wrong/

[3] https://medium.com/illumination/the-ugly-power-of-get-rich-quick-schemes-and-why-people-fall-for-them-b9cadbabdb8f

[4] https://www.forbes.com/sites/michaelellsberg/2011/07/31/why-success-makes-your-life-more-compex-not-less/

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