Success and our culture

Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me.         Philippians 3:12

Are you a success? You may immediately respond, “That all depends on how you define it.” Achieving success is far more than reaching the top, than earning a large salary, than seeing your name on the marquee. I define it as seeking and finding and doing the will of God for your life, discovering His purpose for your existence, then setting goals and objectives that are pleasing to Him.

This entails a complete turn-around in our thinking. Shedding the “money is wonderful” mentality and understanding that real success is not the equivalent of reaching the top of the pile is not easy.

A blue collar worker can come home with dirty hands and a clear conscience and say, “Lord, I’ve done my best; I have accomplished Your will for today.” The single mom who struggles to hold down a job, get three kids to school, put food on the table and clothes on the backs of her children without help can and does succeed. Your definition of success depends on your values.

Writing to the Romans, Paul confronted this issue. He wrote, “Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is – his good, pleasing and perfect will” (Romans 12:2). And the only way to do that is to get God’s point of view. It means breaking the stranglehold of a culture whose values run counter to God’s.

We must acknowledge that as long as our attitudes reflect the pagan culture in which we live, we’ll never find the peace that comes through fulfilling God’s purpose, which is real success.

This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him is no darkness at all. If we claim to have fellowship with him yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live by the truth. But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his son, purifies us from all sin. I John 1:5-7