Good success

We live in a success-driven culture. That is indisputable. The big problem is that our culture defines success for us and as Christians we either consciously or unconsciously buy into these measures of success. We think success is a bigger home, nicer car, better job, etc. And so often we have such a great concern for the things of men, that we define success by man's yardstick, rather than our own.

But what is God's definition of success. If we really fear God and keep his commandments we will be more concerned with a Godward definition of success than what man thinks. Man, of course, looks on the outward appearance, but God looks on the heart.

At the beginnning of Jesus' ministry he described what true happiness and true success looked like internally in his longest recorded sermon, the message from the moutain (Mathew 5-7). This wasn't just a sermon teaching us how to live in a future kingdom. Nor was it a sermon that simply gave us some ethical guidelines by which to get along with other people. It was a message that described how a true child of God would live. It laid down the requirements for the subjects of King Jesus. When Jesus described in the opening verses what a truly "blessed" person looked like, he changed all the "price tags" of what contentment and internal happiness really was. When He delivered those words, he turned man's thinking on its head as to what constituted true "success." No one would have considered a person who acknowledged his spirititual bankruptcy, mourned over their sin, sought after meekness, really hungered and thirsted for God's righteousness and thus demonstrated mercy, purity and peace-making and counted it joy when they were persecuted and reviled for their life and message as happy or successful. (Matthew 5:2-12). But this is what true happiness or success really is.

As a pastor I have to continually struggle against what I perceive to be success or what others perceive to be success over and what God says is success in ministry. Kent Hughes has helped me think biblically about this in his book Liberating Ministry from the Success Syndrome. Here are some of his biblically rooted observations from Scripture that may encourage you today in your life.

• Success is faithfulness: "So then, men ought to regard us as servants of Christ and as those entrusted with the secret things of God. Now it is required that those who have been given a trust must prove faithful." (1 Cor 4:1-2)
  

• Success is serving: "You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be your slave." (Mat 22:25-27)

• Success is loving: "Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?...'You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment." (Mat 22:37-38)

• Success is believing: "Without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him." (Heb 11:6)

• Success is prayer: "Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful." (Col 4:2)

• Success is holiness: "Be holy because I am holy." (Lev 19:2)

• Success is attitude: "Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus, who, though being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing." (Phil 2:5)

The words of a godly man have helped me so often in my life. He said, "Remember, Dwight. God doesn't call you to be successful. He calls you to be faithful." Those words have encouraged me so often and helped to regroup or reevaluate my life and ministry.

May we remember the words of God to Joshua, "This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success." God help us to be faithful to the Gospel, loyal to Christ, and fearing God not man! That is true success.