Subtitle: "of succeeding at things in life that don't really matter."
Excerpt: True success is aligning one’s heart with Christ and living a life of faithfulness, love, and service, prioritizing eternal values over worldly pursuits.
Quote Source – Francis Chan
A Biblical Christian worldview perspective – One of the most important goals in modern life is to be successful. From a young age, we are taught to set high goals, get more done, and judge our worth by how well we do things. People say that having a good life means having a good job, being recognized, having enough money, and having power over others. But the Bible warns over and over that success can be one of the most dangerous spiritual detriments for a person if they abuse it (Matthew 19:24).
In Mark 8:36, Jesus asked a crucial question: “What does it profit a man to gain the whole world and lose his soul?” The problem isn’t success itself. God does not oppose diligence, excellence, or productive labor (Proverbs 14:23). The risk arises when we achieve success in endeavors devoid of eternal significance. Or, we succeed in order to pander to our pride (Colossians 3:23). People can spend decades climbing ladders that are leaning against the wrong wall (Stephen Covey, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People).
A lot of the things we do to pass the time are only temporary. Even the best things we do on Earth won’t last forever. Faithfulness, love, obedience, generosity, and the quiet acts of service that the world often misses but God sees are what will last.
1 Corinthians 3:12-15 says that our actions will be put to the test to see what they really are. Some things will last forever, like gold, while others will disappear, like straw. This is not meant to scare us; it’s meant to make our efforts more directed toward serving God rather than man. It should make us consider our priorities now so we don’t regret them later (Revelation 21:4).
The tragedy is not failing in the eyes of the world. The tragedy is arriving at the end of life after mastering what never truly mattered. Living a successful life doesn’t mean accumulating things; it means aligning your heart with Christ and spending your life on things that will last for eternity.
“Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. - Matthew 6:19-21
Salvation – Eternal Life in Less Than 150 Words
Distributed by – BCWorldview.org