What Does Successful Mean?
How do you define success? When I was younger it was so easy, if I get what I want when I want it then that is success. Getting older has complicated my definitions. I now know that I’m not a very good judge of character, make bad choices sometimes and that my priorities can get mixed up. What I want, when I want it may just spell disaster! Worse still I don’t always have the wisdom to
realise that I made poor choices until good old hindsight kicks much later on.
Things can get very complicated unless you decide that maybe things are not very good as symbols of success at all. But what kind of weird person would you be in today’s’ society if you didn’t know the social and self esteem value of “stuff” and lots of it!
Yet I long for a very different goal that doesn’t include stuff in its definition at all. How fair would it be if our value relied on place of birth, education and economic opportunity? Not least because these often rely to some extent upon our parent’s circumstances more than our own efforts. Can you be
successful simply as a result of being born in the right place at the right time to the right parents? Is wealth the right measure?
Perhaps not. I know my value - after all Jesus, both God and man in one, thought me worth dying for, and did so. So for me success is very simple indeed – it’s having the sense to accept his gift of forgiveness and choosing to live his way.
How else can I realise my full potential, live up to my true value and exceed the smallness of my own expectations? Success is simply this: be all that God would have you be, with his help.
Now that’s a measure everyone everywhere has an equal chance of achieving.
“Then Jesus said to his disciples, “If any of you wants to be my follower, you must turn from your selfish ways, take up your cross, and follow me.
If you try to hang on to your life, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for my sake, you will save it.
And what do you benefit if you gain the whole world but lose your own soul? Is anything worth more than your soul?
For the Son of Man will come with his angels in the glory of his Father and will judge all people according to their deeds.”
Matthew 16: 24-27 (NLT)
“That’s the whole story. Here now is my final conclusion: Fear God and obey his commands, for this is everyone’s duty.
God will judge us for everything we do, including every secret thing, whether good or bad.”
Ecclesiastes 12: 13-14 (NLT)