God, Success, and the Christian
The way many of us define success is far removed from the Bible. I fall under this category too. What is Christian success? How do you define success as a Christian? Or simply what is God's perspective on what it means to be successful?
The motivational speaker always tell us that as we all are different, so our definition of success is. It is true relatively. But absolutely, no. And if we are to speak of God, we must speak of absolute truth―truth that does not need human opinions for validation.
Man and the Problem of Success
In twenty-first century culture number is king. We tend to ask questions like, "Why don't I have more followers on social media? How did he get the promotion over me? Why haven't I been able to bring more people to faith? Why isn't my business growing? Why aren't people responding to my ministry?" and the likes.
"If we are to speak of God, we must speak of absolute truth―truth that does not need human opinions for validation.”
It's increasingly difficult not to see growth as our surest sign of God's favor and blessings. It is even believed by some Christian community that if God's work isn't advancing in your hands, you're probably curse.
As Christians, the questions can be even more frustrating because our motives are often for noble causes like advancing God's kingdom and making Him famous in the world. How could God say no to that kind of ambition? Well, He seems to. All the time. And His word helps us begin to make sense of His decision to do so.
A Question of Love
In the last scene of the Gospel of John, the resurrected Jesus is on a beach, conversing with His baffled disciples. He turns to Peter and asks, "Do you love me more than these?" (John 21:15). "Yes, Lord; you know I love you." Then Jesus charges Peter with what will become the disciple's lifelong ministry: "Feed my lambs." Jesus asks the same question two more times, and two more times Jesus calls Peter to nourish God's people.
Then, in an instant, the whole conversation pivots as Jesus pulls back the curtain to show Peter how his own story will end: "I tell you the truth, when you were young, you were able to do as you liked; you dressed yourself and went wherever you wanted to go. But when you are old, you will stretch out your hands, and others will dress you and take you where you don’t want to go.' Jesus said this to let him know by what kind of death he would glorify God. Then Jesus told him, 'Follow me'" (John 21:18-19).
Wait. Imagine the confusion that might have clouded Peter's heart. Jesus was actually telling Peter, "You're going to be crucified." This disciple has just been commissioned by His leader to care for God's people, charged to teach them, and then that same leader ends His charge with, "Oh by the way, you're going to be executed in a horribly painful way." Doesn't Jesus know that crucifixion would massively inhibit Peter's ability to preach and care for the church? The conversation feels so counterintuitive.
In our time where prosperity preaching has clouded the minds of the Christian scene, imagine a pastor being told by Jesus that his end after preaching the gospel and feeding God's people with His word is being sentenced to life in prison, then death by hanging, he will typically say it is the devil speaking! We assume that if God calls us―whatever that call may be―then He must bless us―whatever we believe this blessing is.
“When my heart are clouded by my lack of success, the truth of the sovereignty of God over all things helps to restore my sight.”
A False Duality
A dangerous assumption lies at the heart of the kind of bafflement we suspect Peter might have had (and certainly at the heart of our own bafflement). We subtly begin to assume that bigger is always better and a sign of success. Success and suffering are at variance and incompatible to the natural human mind. We think, "If God loves me, He will bless me (and my work, and my ministry)!" The absence of blessing must mean the absence of love―because we decide and define what this love looks like. This is the centerpiece of prosperity preaching, but it hides inside even the most doctrinally sound Christian.
How can we find joy when our work for God seems fruitless? What is the right measuring stick to hold up to our lives and ministries? God’s word gives us at least three truths that help us escape wrong thinking about true success and what it means to be truly successful.
1. Trust in the Plans of God
When my heart are clouded by my lack of success, the truth of the sovereignty of God over all things helps to restore my sight. When I see that God is behind the advancing and the struggling of my ministry, I experience a new and prevailing kind of joy and gratitude—even in sorrow, grief, and loss.
Have you considered that your floundering life and ministry could be a mercy from God? Could it be that your all-knowing Father is sparing you 1,000 sorrows without your knowing by withholding something from you? A proper view of God's benevolent sovereignty in our lives reinforces our trust in God's plan that He is working far beyond what we can see and ask, for His ultimate glory in our ultimate good.
“A proper view of God's benevolent sovereignty in our lives reinforces our trust in God's plan that He is working far beyond what we can see and ask, for His ultimate glory in our ultimate good.”
2. Ablaze for the Glory of God
Let God's glory be your measuring stick of success. A. W. Tozer once wrote, "Promoting self under the guise of promoting Christ is currently so common so as to excite little notice." I have tried many times to promote self in the guise of promoting Christ―and I'm ashamed of it. I’ve often masked my ambition to see my name made great, instead of God's, repackaging it as a desire for God to be glorified.
If you'll be sincere with yourself, this is true of you, too. Our hearts often hesitate at the thought of anything less than "fame and fairytale". If you feel an inordinate sense of unfairness when your story isn't unfolding like you thought, it may be time to explore whether you want growth for God’s sake, or for your own.
3. Die to Yourself
Hearing about death to self is so much scarce in our time. We want to hear how we can be something, when God calls us to be nothing so He can be everything in us.
In that final conversation between Christ and Peter, John the Beloved slips in one phrase that unveils the central truth of the passage, and the key to the mystery: "Jesus said this to let him know by what kind of death he would glorify God" (John 21:19).
"Death is one of the many things that is now owned, and exploited, by our God.”
To many, there is no glory in death. The world scoffs at the unsuccessful. But not so for the Christian. Death is one of the many things that is now owned, and exploited, by our God. He is in the business of turning death on its head to produce good things for His people―that's why death could become gain for Paul and something which cannot separate us from the love of God. When Christ hung on the cross at Golgotha, His followers saw it as the termination of His kingdom, when it was really in fact the inauguration!
What is our measuring stick for success? It is this: Follow Jesus wherever He leads, even if He leads us to death. In the end, the most modest ministry done faithfully in obscurity will prove to make the Master look glorious and famous.
O. O. Living (@oo_living) answered the call to follow Jesus Christ at the age of fourteen after hearing the teachings of a Christian lady. He is founder and teacher of Godcentered Christianity. Living is author of 5 books including God’s Passion for His Glory and most recently, Joy to the World.