People ruin their lives by their own foolishness and then are angry at the LORD (Proverbs 19:3).
The Bible makes it clear that you can make yourself great, and you can ruin your own life. It is all a factor of whether or not you are wise enough to key into the unfailing principles that God has laid down in His word and walk in them. Walking in obedience to these principles will guarantee your success. Doing otherwise will lead to ruin. And whatever happens, don’t blame God. He has done all He needs to do for you to be a success in time and in eternity.
The word of the Lord to Joshua was very instructive at this point: This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success (Joshua 1:8).
When you meditate on the word of God day and night and do them, then you will make your way prosperous. You will have good success. The Amplified Bible says, then you will deal wisely in the affairs of life. The corollary is also true- if you are ignorant of the word of God or you refuse to walk in them, then you will lack wisdom in the affairs of life. And foolishness will lead to ruin. Jesus Christ our Lord listed foolishness as one of the things that defile a man. And there is no greater degree of foolishness than to neglect the word of God, where the unfailing principles of success and greatness are laid out.
Consider the following eternal principles:- Honour your father and your mother. Whatsoever a man sows that shall he reap. The hand of the diligent shall bear rule, the slothful shall be under tribute. Beware of covetousness; a man’s life does not consist in the abundance of the things he possesses. The wicked flees when no man pursues, but the righteous is as bold as lion.
I want to urge you to begin to take the principles of the word of God very seriously. Walking in them is as walking in wisdom of God. Doing so will show you to the world as a truly wise man. And you will be a wise man in time and in eternity. Being ignorant of them or refusing to walk in them is the height of folly; and it will lead to a ruined life. If that happens, don’t blame God. He has shown you in His word what to do to be great. It is now all in your hand.