A Facebook post from my oldest son with a picture of him, his wife, and twin daughters read, “At some point you wake up & success looks so much different than it did in your 20s. Goals & priorities shift. What used to matter most has been replaced. And you never look back. Thank you Lord.” This ‘ole dad’ rejoiced. My first thought, “He’s reached a new level of maturity.” Yet, so many people never grasp this truth about the measure of success, or understand what is truly important. The Western world bases success on prosperity, prestige, power, and pleasure. In contrast certain tribal cultures measure success on how many cows a person owns. In the Bemba tribe in Zambia, couples must have eight children before society views them as successful. Other cultures in the world base success, not on what one possesses, but how much they give away.
Definitions of success are as varied as there are people in the world. People set standards for success ranging from life as a whole to small projects during the day. Our challenge is to understand what God views as successful. Consider this individual: in and out of prison; never built a headquarters; had to work to support his ministry; always offended people; or never owned a large home by the lake or in a prestigious neighborhood. “What a failure! He’s not claiming God’s blessing,” some would say. We know him as the Apostle Paul. None of those listed as ‘the heroes of faith’ in Hebrews chapter eleven would be regarded as successful—mocked, scourged, stoned to death, sawn in two, beheaded, lived in holes in the ground, and wore goat skins for clothes.
Despite Thomas Jefferson’s statement in the U.S. Declaration of Independence, “All men are created equal”, the Bible disagrees. Men are equal in value as human beings, but not in ability. In the parable of the talents, Jesus says To one he gave five talents, to another, two, and to another, one, each according to his own ability; and he went on his journey (Mat 25:15). Note the phrase, according to his own ability. From our childhood most of us are taught, “If you work hard enough, you can be anything you want to be. You can be the best in the world.” Sounds good, but not reality and can cause people to set unachievable standards for success. No matter how hard I would have worked, I could have at no time won a Gold Medal at the Olympics [best in the world] as a runner. My feet are so flat even the Army rejected me when the selective serviced drafted me. No matter how much I would have trained and practiced, could I have been an Opera singer. I’m tone deaf. My wife punches me if I try to sing in church. Why? God did not give me these abilities.
The parable of the talents teaches valuable lessons about success. Each servant was created with different levels of ability and the master distributed the talents with consideration of that. He knew the man he gave only one talent did not have the ability to manage five talents. He also knew the man he gave five possessed the ability to handle five talents. The owner appraised the two who invested and doubled their talents equally successful. Their reward, you were faithful with a few things, I will put you in charge of many things (Matt 25:23). He would have deemed the servant with one talent just has successful as the others if he had doubled his talent or even gained interest from the bank. Note also, neither were they less successful because they were servants and not the master. People may have little because they never used what God has given them. We must succeed with a little before God gives us more.
First step toward biblical success requires an understanding and acceptance of God’s desires for me. We must guard against seeking to live up to someone else’s idea of success. Commit your way to the Lord, Trust also in Him, and He will do it (Psa 37:5). When we commit, we are submitting our plans and desires into God’s hands, accepting His will for our life, and trusting I can accomplish that with what I have. Too often people say, “If I only had this or that or had what that person has, I could be successful”. Paul wrote, I have learned the secret of being content (Phil 4:12) with what I have. My paraphrase: sometimes I have money, sometimes I’m poor, sometimes I have abundant food, sometimes I’m hungry, and sometimes I have abundance, sometimes I suffer need. Yet, I can do all things through Him who strengthens me (v13), with what I have.
Pursuing success through wealth and fame can leave one a failure as a husband or wife, as a parent, and as a Christian. We should never feel like a failure because we have less than someone else—less talents, less spiritual gifts, less abilities. Ask yourself who am I becoming, and what am I doing with what God has given me? You may need to shift your goals & priorities.
Sustaining Word for the Week: The measure of Biblical success is doing my best to become what God wants me to be and do it with what He has given me whether five, two, or one talent.