In What Eminent People Have Thought About Success, I looked at some of the prevailing philosophies in our culture about the nature of success (and how it is attained).
What is the biblical worldview of success? What does God consider a succesful person?
Charles Colson offers his thoughts in a short essay entitled How Should I Measure Success In Life.
Colson writes,
"You need to teach your children that God’s economy does not measure success the same way the world does. What God calls us to is obedience. When we live his commandments, as I have discovered in my own life, we find true meaning and purpose and fulfillment. We also discover real power, sometimes when we feel the most powerless. The Christian life is a great paradox in that God often does his greatest work through us in our most humble moments."
Colson adds later:
What is the great lesson in this? The great lesson is that while we should always do our best to bring glory to God with excellence, what really matters in life is not so much what we do. What matters most is what God chooses to do through us. This is why on my desk is a wonderful plaque with one of Mother Teresa’s favorite expressions: Faithfulness, Not Success.
Your children and grandchildren need to know that what matters most in their life is their obedience to God. That is success in his eyes.
I think Colson has a strong point here, don't you? You would have a difficult time defending the notion that God's goal is for us to be successful in the sense the world defines success (power / influence / wealth / accomplishments ). [Note: unless you are Joel Osteen ... whose misguided preaching causes me to cringe each time I hear it].
But you can find strong support for a call to faithfulness -- a call to obedience -- a call to steward that which God has entrusted to us -- and a call to run the race and finish well.
( See Matt 25:14-30, Phil 3:12-14, 2 Tim 4:6-8 for a small sampling)
"Well done, good and faithful servant". Don't we all long to hear that on the day.
But is what God chooses to do through us what makes us successful?
If we are not careful, we can slide into performance-oriented Christianity. That is, if I do such and such, then God will find me successful and approve of me. Those who slide into this trap devise strategies to justify themselves in God's eyes by minimizing their own sin and boasting about their righteous acts. Friends, it is a mistake to think we can add anything to the righteousness of Christ. The only true hope is in the righteousness of Christ, which has been imputed to those who trust in the finished work of Christ -- any other hope is in vain.
It is not enough to talk about what we do. To fully understand what God considers a successful person, we must consider the heart.
To be continued...