A story has been making the rounds on various social media platforms. There are many versions of this story. I will be sharing the version that appeals the most to me. The story is about a hen that swallowed a diamond on a poultry farm, and the owner of the diamond contracted a man to figure out the hen, kill it, and retrieve the diamond. When the man arrived, he discovered over a thousand hens on the poultry farm but one was detached and away from the others. He went straight for that one, killed it, and retrieved the diamond. The owner of the diamond, in surprise, asked, “How were you able to identify the hen at your first attempt amidst over a thousand hens?” The man smiled and said, “It is simple, when fools become rich, they detach themselves from other people.”
When I was in College (Major) Seminary, shortly before my diaconate ordination, the rector (head) of the school, came to my class and said, “My Dear Deacon-Class, My Dear Seminarians, as you prepare for your ordination, I am not here to pray for you to be successful, for I know you are already successful; I am only here to pray for the grace to manage the success.” He explained that so many people find it easy to become successful, but only very few can manage the success. So he left us with these parting words, “Beware of your success!”
Take a moment to reflect on the world, on various civilizations, governments, empires, countries, nations, societies, families, and individuals. You would notice how many rose very quickly, but in a short time, they began to sink. They became successful very quickly but hardly sustained and maintained the success. Beware of your success!
In today’s Gospel passage, a very short one, Jesus, halfway into his public ministry, asked his apostles, “Who do people say that I am?” They gave various wrong answers. Jesus then turned to them and asked, “But who do you say that I am?” It was Peter who spoke on behalf of the apostles, he said, “You are the Christ.” In Matthew’s account of this story, after Simon Peter gave this answer, Jesus celebrated him, saying, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah. For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my heavenly Father. And so I say to you, you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church,and the gates of the netherworld shall not prevail against it. I will give you the keys to the kingdom of heaven. Whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven; and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven” (16:17-19). Imagine the thumbs up! Imagine the celebration! Peter was successful.
However, in the same passage, a few steps further, Jesus began to explain the implication of his being the Christ: “The Son of Man must suffer greatly and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes, and be killed, and rise after three days.” Peter would not have any of those; he interjected and rebuked Jesus for saying those words. Jesus then turned to Peter and said, “Get behind me, Satan. You are thinking not as God does, but as human beings do.” Peter, who was successful and celebrated a short while ago, failed and received the rebuke from Jesus: “Get behind me Satan!” Beware of your success!
Why does it happen this way that people become quickly successful but fail to maintain the success? It is because when people become successful, they quickly forget the source of their success; they detach themselves from God, who is the source of their success, and they detach themselves from other human beings, who are the channels through which God delivers this success. In Peter’s case, when he gave the correct answer in Matthew’s account, Jesus told him that it was not through flesh and blood that he got the correct answer but through the power of God. When Jesus began to explain the implication of his being the Christ, Peter disconnected himself from God; he thought he could carry on by himself, then Satan entered into him, and his following words brought him failure; Jesus said to him, “Get behind me Satan.”
Detachment from God and other human beings remains the cause of many failures. For example, in families, you will see siblings with common humble beginnings. However, as soon as one becomes wealthy or successful, they forget their common origin and detach themselves from the rest of the family. Sometimes, you see classmates who struggled together in school, and as soon as one of them gets a good job, they begin to detach themselves from others. Remember, “Our help comes from the Lord” (Psalm 121), but we need one another as channels through which we receive this help. You can never tell at what point you may need the other person who may not be as successful as you. While climbing, never disregard those you meet because you may need them on your way back.
Remember, when fools become rich, they detach themselves from God and others, making them vulnerable to failure. Beware of your success, for in your success is the seed of failure. If you become successful, remain connected to God and other human beings. May God, who took you to your current success, not abandon you, and may God grant you the grace to keep what he has given you so that you may make the best of it for yourself and others. My dearly beloved in Christ, never forget that you have been blessed to bless others; you have not been blessed to detach yourself from God and others.
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