Good to Great?

One of the recent books I read was Jim Collins’ best-selling management book, “Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap, and Others Don’t.” It came out seven years ago and still it reportedly sells over 300,000 copies a year. The phenomenal hardcover featured 11 companies which, simply put, transformed from simply average to super amazing, making lots of money along the way. Collins and his team sought to pinpoint the principles that led them to that leap of greatness. When I looked at the “good-to-great” list, I immediately noticed the mortgage company Federal National Mortgage Association or, popularly known as, Fannie Mae. This year, it went belly up and the US government had to bail it out. Another “good-to-great” company, the giant electronics dealer and retailer Circuit City, filed for bankruptcy last month. A business columnist wisely pointed out, “‘Good to Great’ companies can fail, too.” The remaining nine in the list reportedly lost 45 percent of their value in the last five years. One possible reason why some of these companies became below average is that they failed to continue in the principles that made them “good-to-great.”

Asa was a “good-to-great” king (Read 2 Chronicles 14:1-16:14). Through the Lord’s help, though vastly outnumbered, he won a war against his enemies. Since then, for 35 years, there was peace and prosperity in Judah. But he made an ungodly deal with a pagan king. Thus, a prophet rebuked him. “For the eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to show Himself strong on behalf of those whose heart is loyal to Him. In this you have done foolishly; therefore from now on you shall have wars.” (16:9, NKJV) In the next (and last) five years of his reign, Asa sadly deteriorated into an oppressive king. To his last breath, he remained stubborn. He slid down from great to bad because his heart failed to remain loyal to the Lord. It is really one thing to start well and it is another to finish well. We will only experience His power upon our lives when our hearts continue to be totally His. I pray that, when the Lord’s eyes that run to and fro throughout the whole earth settle on us, He would find a heart that is fully committed to Him and Him alone.

Brethren, let our hearts remain loyal to God.

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