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“Because your successes have made you feel worthy and entitled, you are tempted to grant yourself a lifestyle and luxuries that few of the people you have been called to serve will ever be able to have.” Paul Tripp

I’ve been thinking lately about how easily success can become a danger in leadership.

We usually think of leadership dangers as failure, conflict, criticism, burnout, or making a bad decision.

But what if one of the greatest dangers is simply becoming too comfortable?

Amos 6:1 says:

“Woe to those who are at ease in Zion, and to those who feel secure on the mountain of Samaria.”

The people Amos was addressing weren’t necessarily doing anything obviously terrible. They were enjoying their success. They had nice things. They were comfortable. They had reached a place where life was good.

The problem was that their comfort had made them indifferent.

Amos says they were “not grieved over the ruin of Joseph” (Amos 6:6).

That part really gets me.

Because I think complacency can happen in ministry without us even realizing it.

We can get excited about what God has done—and we should.

We can celebrate attendance, baptisms, new ministries, growing classes, and other victories. But if we’re not careful, yesterday’s victories can become today’s comfort zone.

Paul Tripp said something that challenged me:

“Because your successes have made you feel worthy and entitled, you are tempted to grant yourself a lifestyle and luxuries that few of the people you have been called to serve will ever be able to have.”

Ouch.

Success can subtly move us from “God has blessed me” to “I deserve this.”

It can move us from serving people to protecting our comfort.

It can move us from depending on God to depending on what has worked before.

Amos tells Israel to look at Calneh, Hamath, and Gath. These were cities that represented power, prosperity, and security. Yet their strength didn’t last.

The message is pretty clear:

Don’t assume that because things are going well, you are spiritually healthy.

As leaders, we have to keep asking ourselves some uncomfortable questions:

• Am I still burdened for the people I’m called to serve?
• Am I more concerned about preserving what we have than reaching people who aren’t here?
• Have I become more protective of my comfort than passionate about the mission?
• Have I stopped being grieved by the things that grieve God?
• I don’t want to be a leader who simply enjoys the blessings of ministry.

I want to be a leader who remembers why God has given me the opportunity to serve in the first place.

Jesus said:

“For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve…”
— Mark 10:45

That’s the kind of leader I want to be.

May God never let my success become my security, my blessings become my entitlement, or my comfort become more important than my calling.

And maybe that’s something all of us in ministry need to think about from time to time.

Pastors and church leaders, what are some practical ways you have found to keep yourself—and your church—from becoming complacent when things are going well?