What’s Your Measure for Success?

It seems that everyone has a distinct measure of success. Some consider how much money they make in a week, month, year, or lifetime as a great measure of success. There are others who consider how many wins or goals are met as a great measure of success. With that last one, there are others still who believe that success is a matter of how much they have conquered or dominated their competition (perceived or real).

It’s interesting because I think we have a tendency to see success in those ways because of how we grow up. As children, we’re told that being successful is by having the highest Grade Point Average (GPA). Then, as adults, we’re told by banks that our success is in having a high credit score. We’re told by the marketplace that success is based on making it to the C-Suite.

Even when it comes to ministry, you have some who view how big it is or how many people they draw as a great measure of success. In reality, none of these are of any eternal significance. I believe that God keeps the measure of success much simpler than that.

Did You Learn to Love?

As one measure of success, I think that God is most concerned with whether we’ve learned to love well. Loving well is perhaps the chief of all the measurables that there can be. During Jesus’ last Passover supper, right after he announces that he will be betrayed, he tells the disciples that “your love for one another will prove to the world that you are my disciples (John 13:35 NLT).” The love that we are supposed to show for one another among the body of Christ should be so superior to the love that is shown by the world that even they can tell the difference and will know that we are followers of Christ.

We know that God is looking for a certain uniqueness from His church. Paul speaks of the type of love that we are to have in the context of marriage, saying “Husbands love your wives in the same way Christ loves the church. He gave his life for her (Ephesians 5:25).” The love Christ had for the church was sacrificial. It was the greatest act of service. Jesus previously mentioned that anyone desiring to be the first or greatest must be the servant of all (Mark 9:35, Mark 10:44). The love that we are to have as Christians are not just in the area of marriage but among the entire family of faith. That same boundless and sacrificial love that Jesus showed on the cross, juxtaposed by the betrayal of Judas and was prophesied by Jesus, should be the same love we’re showing each other.

Were You Salt and Light?

Salt is not just a seasoning for food to give it flavor. It is also something that was used as a way to preserve meat from decay prior to the invention of modern refrigeration. It was also something that was used both as a currency for trade, as well as a way to make covenants among two or more people. You may have heard the phrase “worth their salt”. The phrase denotes someone who is worthy of respect or is someone who is competent.

Recognizing that salt holds value for a number of reasons, among those listed above, the question we must consider is whether or not we possess the characteristics of salt. Are we being a cultural influence to the degree that we are preserving it from decay? Do we add value in the areas of society where we are called? Does our word hold value or can people rely on us with a great deal of assurance? If we are like salt, these are things we must consider.

Light is meant to cast off the darkness, enabling sight, and preventing stumbling. Jesus mentions that no one sets a lit candle only to place it under a bushel; rather, they set it on a candlestick where it can illuminate the whole house (Matthew 5:15, Luke 11:33). The purpose of light is to shine; covering that light negates the potential for which it exists.

If we are meant to be light in the world, we need to displace the darkness, cause people to see, and show the path that prevents stumbling. If we are so settled to hold our light or hide it, we diminish (pardon the pun) our power and potential. Light speaks to truth and hope. If we are not providing that for people, are we doing justice to those around us who need that light?

Whose Life Did You Impact?

I’m often mindful of my father. As a child, I knew that he was someone of importance in our faith fellowship. However, in the years following his passing, I discovered more and more of the measure of his success. It came in the way of testimonies of the people from all walks of life that knew him. People from the church whose lives were changed spiritually as he ministered to them, influenced their own faith walk, and more. There were people he worked with, people he went to school with, and people from places that I have long since recalled who spoke of his love and care. His brief 37 years continue to speak of his impact even now. My prayer is that my life has that level of impact. I want my children to see that level of impact in the same measure I’ve found in my father.

I pray that we all learn to love, live as salt and light, and make an impact on others that speaks well of us. I pray that this is the true measure of success that we seek over those other measures that are often used. It’s apparent that God measures the heart (1 Samuel 16:7). It is in that heart measure that God finds our worth over any other thing. What then is your measure for success?