Before you can chase success in life and work, you have to define it. You can’t pursue what you don’t recognize. Life and work at some level are to be about reaching, striving, pushing forward. God did not put us on the earth to do nothing with our lives. Yet that is exactly what many men are doing in our culture. A recent Princeton University study found that 20% of men ages 21-30 without a university degree were not working at all—that number more than doubling over the previous decade. “The study has shown that more young men are now living at home and playing video games.”[1]
Because so many are unable to define and point their lives toward success, they are content to live in constant distraction. God gave us work, and an amount of ambition, however, to help us learn how to press on throughout our lives. In Eden, before man ever sinned, he had a job—tend the garden, manage the land and animals. Then we continue to see God giving roles to men and women as Scripture unfolds—prophet, priest, king, mother, father, leader, shepherd, warrior. Notice, each role has a distinct purpose.
Based on these examples, success might be defined as understand one’s role, skills and talents, then finding a path to execute to the best of their abilities. Since we are created by God for a specific purpose, real success is God-driven. Scripture echoes this in Psalm 37:4, “Delight yourself in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart.” In this verse, our own success is tied to our desire to know and please God. Since He is our creator, in this we ultimately also know ourselves. In addition to living distracted lives, there are other ways in which we can fail to follow a God-driven path to success:
Wanting others’ success. Many leaders allow others to define success for them. From observations at work, to what we see on the news and in social media, we will accept a definition of success based on what someone else things—or society in general believes. Olympian Ginny Gilder comments, “If we buy into that commonly held idea of success—and only that commonly held idea of success—it doesn’t leave a lot of room for other hopes and dreams.”[2]
A desire for the success of others quickly leads to envy and jealousy. Proverbs 14:30 reminds us, “A tranquil heart gives life to the flesh, but envy makes the bones rot.” Jealousy is also mentioned among the “works of the flesh” in Galatians 5:19-21: “Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.” Scripture clearly teaches we should avoid looking at what others have and desiring it for ourselves. Contentment is a key marker of a heart and mind that is in tune with God’s ideal for lasting success.
Success in the moment. Some of us will fail to pursue anything worthwhile in life. Instead of determining success and taking strides to achieve it, we will reach a state of contentment with where things are and how we are. A Strayer University survey found that “90% of Americans believe that success is more about happiness than power, possessions, or prestige.”[3] Dr. Michael Plater comments, “It's no longer about the car or the house. Instead, people are focused on leading a fulfilling life, whether that means finding a better career, achieving personal goals, or spending more time with their families.”
Indeed though this definition of success and the pursuit of it may yield more fulfillment than wealth and prestige, it too is limiting to what makes you happy in the short-term, and has little motive to positively impact society outside of one’s own relationships. Pursuing personal happiness puts one’s own wants and desires at the forefront. The Bible too warns against pursuing success as personal fulfillment. Romans 13:13-14 says, “Let us walk properly as in the daytime, not in orgies and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and sensuality, not in quarreling and jealousy. But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires.”
Real success is personal. Abraham Lincoln gave this famous advice: “Always bear in mind that your own resolution to succeed is more important than any other.” In other words, personal success is different for every individual. Success for you will be unique to you. It will not look like others’ success and you will not arrive at it in the same manner. If you tool around online for a few minutes you’ll likely come across a few advertisements for success—just follow this formula, or get the right coaching, or start this particular business, and success is guaranteed. The path has already been laid out, you just have to follow it, step by step, and you’ll get there too.
Don’t fall for it! If you want to pursue success then the first thing you must do is know that it is deeply personal. And if you are a Christ-follower, then the “formula” for your success is necessarily Christ-centered. The challenge in finding personal success is first to focus on what Christ wants, to the exclusion of every kind of distraction that will come your way. Christ created you as a unique individual, and gave you specific talents and abilities in order to fulfill His purpose for your life on earth. There are goals you are meant to accomplish in service to Jesus that nobody else is capable of.
Ultimately we find success first in a relationship with Christ, and then in service to Jesus’ Kingdom in our unique way. When we empty out the cultural definitions of success, and rid ourselves of the pleasures of the moment, then we will begin to hunger for real, lasting and meaningful success. Matthew 5:6 promises, “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.” In chasing after the things of Christ, we will find true satisfaction! When we begin to want what God wants, then God will give us more success than we ever thought possible. Is your heart searching for the secret of success? Remember the words of Psalm 37:4, “Delight yourself in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart.”
What is a healthy view of money and profit? Can we desire financial success, and still serve God with full devotion? It’s really a question of where our treasure—and heart—lies.