Theme of the Week: Success As A Christian Man
Bible Verse: “For what will it benefit someone if he gains the whole world yet loses his life? Or what will anyone give in exchange for his life?” Matthew 16:26-27 CSB
Scripture Reading: Matthew 16:24-28
I used to want to do great things for God. Of course, by great I meant big and famous things. I wanted to make my mark in the world.
I still want to do great things for God, but my definition of greatness has changed.
Many people do big things – become famous, make lots of money, discover new things, even help other people become better, yet they still end up with a life of regret. You can accomplish great things and make a name for yourself and still end up unsuccessful at what matters most.
My new definition of greatness has more to do with faithfulness than success. It seems that the loudest voices in our world tell us that success is money, cars, girls, good looks, and promotions. But for the follower of Jesus, we listen to another source of direction. The Bible gives us a much better goal.
On the wall above my desk, a framed document reminds me of what matters most: “Live a life of humble godliness. Become a humble, gracious old man who loves God and who has no secrets.”
That’s my idea of success now.
According to Jesus, some things are more valuable than gaining everything the world has to offer. The tradeoff that we make for the pursuit of worldly greatness is not worth the cost.
There is a set of character qualities that describe what it means to live well. You may be surprised at how unremarkable they seem, but in the end, they are the qualities that matter most. We’ll examine a new quality each day this week.
Prayer: Jesus, it’s easy to have grand plans. Sometimes it seems we were even created to have big dreams. But those dreams might be distorted by what we see in the world around us. Help me see and understand what it means to be a success in your eyes.
Reflection: How do you define success? Take a critical look at your definition and ask yourself if it needs to be redefined.
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