True success

1 Kings 2 vs 3 “And observe what the Lord your God requires: walk in His ways, and keep His decrees and commands, His laws and requirements, as written in the Law of Moses, so that you may prosper in all you do and wherever you go.”

We all want to be successful. Defined as being the master of one’s destiny, success has become this driving force that one could almost describe as an idol. All around us, we are inundated with motivational messages that tell us how to attain success and live the life you want. Yet most of us have a very misguided idea on what success is, we tend to measure it by the amount of wealth, power and fame that a person obtains in this world.

In God’s kingdom, being wealthy is no way a measure of success. When you grow as a Christian and maximise the use of the gifts and talents that God gave you, then you are successful. God gave each of us something we can develop, and it’s up to you to use the chances and opportunities available to you to develop yourself and make a contribution in life. The Parable of the Talents teaches about the biblical definition of success. The third servant was castigated by his master for his idleness because he wasted an opportunity, while the other two servants were rewarded for multiplying what they had been entrusted with.

In the same way, the Lord will hold us accountable for how we used our gifts to fulfill our earthly calling not only for our personal gain, but to honour Him. There is nothing wrong with having worldly wealth, God wants us to prosper, but if you have wisdom, contentment, peace, joy, knowledge, direction, acceptance of self, love for others, and eventually an eternity with God when life ends, that is true godly success. Let us aim to be successful in that which is spiritual and eternal, so that at the end of our journey our Master can say, “Well done good and faithful servant.”