“Let love and faithfulness never leave you; bind them around your neck, write them on the tablet of your heart. Then you will win favor and a good name in the sight of God and man.”
Proverbs 3:3-4
How do you measure success?
All of us, I think, have some internal barometer by which we measure ourselves. And we apply that measure to all different kinds of activities. We apply it to everything from our careers to our families to our relationships all the way down to our daily diet.
And, of course, we do. Because we all want to be successful, whatever that means in our particular version of it. But the problem with our version of success is the same problem we have with all of life – because of sin, this definition is warped and marred. It’s broken.
As a result, we need to feel successful in order to validate ourselves as people. We need that mark of achievement to make ourselves feel secure, worthwhile, and loved by others.
In other words, we fundamentally look to our definition of success to do that which can only truly and lastingly be accomplished in Jesus. But when we believe the gospel, when we become the children of God by faith alone and in Christ alone, we see our definition of success start to change.
How specifically does that happen? I’d suggest at least these three ways that, by God’s grace, I’m seeing in my own life:
1. Success is less about metrics and more about faithfulness.
If success was truly about achieving some metric, then Jesus was an absolute failure. Abandoned by His friends, having failed to seize the momentum that was His, Jesus completely dropped the ball. But Jesus knew that success was ultimately measured in faithfulness to what God had called Him to do and be, and that’s precisely what He is and did.
In the same respect, there are many ways we might achieve some kind of metric. We might bend the financial rules in order to meet the required revenue at work, we might take advantage of others in order to climb the ladder, we might sacrifice our integrity on any number of altars to produce the right result. But the gospel reminds us that obedience to the will of God is what we are after.
2. Success is less about what you’re doing than who you’re becoming.
Apart from Christ, we will almost inevitably define success in terms of accomplishment. We have to keep getting promoted, we have to keep making more money, we have to keep moving up in the social circle. But the gospel steps onto this devastating treadmill and simply states, “Enough.”
When we believe the gospel, we come to understand that God is going to shape us into the image of Jesus. And to do that, He will use everything at His disposal. One of the most effective tools He uses for this shaping is our failure. For it’s when we fail that we are pushed to remember again and again who we really are – that no matter whether we achieve some other measure of success, we are once and always children of God.
If God’s aim for us is to be like Jesus, then the gospel helps us deal with failure by refocusing us on who God is making us to be.
3. Success is less about what you accomplish than who you influence.
Most of us are people-users. It’s sad to say, but it’s true. This is one way our relationships are broken by sin. Many may default to looking at others as tools to be used for their own benefit or pleasure. And when that happens, we often find that people are a great stepping stone for our goals.
But the gospel reshapes how we see others. We no longer see them as tools but as possible fellow image-bearers of God. We begin to understand that we cannot leave a wake of bodies in our pathway.
Consider today, friends, how you define success. No matter where you find yourself, consider it. Then, let the gospel speak through you by the power of the Holy Spirit.
When we do that, we will live happier, healthier lives and set a standard for a world in which people are clamoring for their own piece of the pie.
Written by Michael Kelley, Guest Contributor
DIG DEEPER
Read “What is Real Success, Anyway?” by Bryant Wright
