What makes a person successful? A great career? being wealthy? getting a Ph.D.? being famous and popular? The world’s definition of success is measured against what a person has accomplished or achieved in their life. The dictionary defines success as “the accomplishment of an aim or purpose“. Worldly success tends to be focused mostly on self-gratification and self-realization.

How does the bible define success? Matthew 16:26 says, “What good will it be for a man if he gains the whole world, yet forfeits his soul? Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul?”. Jesus talks about the danger of being focussed on worldly success. He wants us to focus on the needs of our souls. What is inside us, the development of our inner soul, is more important than anything we can ever hope to achieve in this world. 1 John 2:15-18 says “Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride in possessions is not from the Father but is from the world. And the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever.” This is how the bible measures our success, by doing the will of God and keeping our focus on Him.

The biggest challenge for all who accept Jesus Christ as their savior is to make sure that we do not conform to the ways of this world. Our definition of success should not be the same as those who are not in Christ. Romans 12:2 says, “Do not be conformed to this world but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect. We have to focus on discerning the will of God and not on using God to make us successful. How many times have we fallen into the trap of asking God to make us successful? He is not here to fulfill our every wish and dream. That is not why we have a relationship with God. Are we only seeking God so that our worldly needs can be fulfilled or are we seeking God to fulfill the will of God for our lives? There is a big difference between the two and it is imperative for Christians to know the difference.

Matthew 6:33 says “But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.” God knows all our needs and what we need to live in this world but he does not want us to measure our success by our worldly possessions and our achievements. He wants us to focus on that which is eternal and not on something that will not last forever. If we do that he will give us what we need to lead our lives here on Earth. Colossians 3:2 says “Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth.” This is the true definition of success according to the bible. If we are able to set our minds on the things of God and follow his will without losing ourselves to the desires and the temptation of this world then we have achieved success in our Christian life. This is the hardest thing for all of us to do, to focus on the will of God and not our own. We need to keep reminding ourselves that true success is defined by following the will of our father in heaven. Let us pray that we do not lose sight of this as Christians.