Ah yes…the ever elusive word that drives millions of people to rise from their sleep every day and try to attain goals that are somewhat out of reach at the moment, but then find themselves only moving those goals to take them to higher places than were previously desired and thought of as the pinnacle of life…that word…SUCCESS!
Let’s face it…no one wants to be labeled a failure or loser. That is evident in our Youth Sports Programs where everyone gets a medal. I mean, when I was a kid, I was S-L-O-W! In fact, my coaches didn’t use a stopwatch to time me, they used a calendar! I remember field day at school…I always seemed to come home with a 1st place ribbon for tug of war, but I hated races! Why? I wasn’t successful at them. It almost seemed like our field days had one strength related event vs. 10 speed events. Don’t feel sorry for me, for the first 10 yards I was as fast as anyone else, but it always seemed that me and at least one girl would always duke it out for…ummm…last. That was usually the one who recovered from the trampling of the speedy kids. I get a picture in my mind like this…
So, what did I come home with? A handful of “Thanks for participating” ribbons. You know, the dreaded purple ribbon.
I had been force-fed a definition of success that gave value to me as a human being through a piece of nylon with a rope! I bought in to it too! While competition and athletics have been a part of my life since I was a kid, as I have grown, I have seen those ribbons replaced with many different things. Titles, positions, promotions, raises, corner offices, you name it. There are ways that people today find value in themselves through the awards they attain or credentials bestowed upon them. They mistakenly cheapen success by defining it by getting to do what THEY want, when THEY want, how THEY want. In fact, it sounds a lot like a bad infomercial like this…
I am sure that Tony Robbins has helped a lot of people get back on track, but I am more confident in God from whom all blessings come from. I am not knocking those things, I am simply pointing out that what took place on field day certainly prepared us for later on in life…except…there are no more participation ribbons! Thank you Jesus!!
One of the wisest men that ever lived was King Solomon. He wrote a book of Wisdom for his son. It is found as one of 66 books found in the Bible called Proverbs. There are 31 chapters in Proverbs. I like to use them one chapter for each day of the month. I want to show you how one of the wisest men that ever lived viewed success. He spelled out the plan for success for his son and ultimately each of us. In Proverbs 16:2-3, Solomon’s plan reads like this,
“2People may be pure in their own eyes, but the Lord examines their motives. 3Commit your actions to the Lord, and your plans will succeed.”
Most of the time, people feel their motives are pure. However, God knows the motives of our heart. When personal plans are made committing them to God leads to a successful fulfillment of those plans. Motives of the heart are understood by God even though we may think ourselves pure and right before Him. The physical, mental, emotional and spiritual act of committing all we do to the Lord will determine your success or failure.
I had to come to the realization that I can do nothing apart from God. My plans need to be committed to Him to ensure success. Success is not for me, per se. Although I get to experience the fruit of success and the blessings of success, my true success is for God’s glory through my plans being committed to Him. He is the one that gets the 1st Place Ribbon…I get the blessing of being His son. He gets the glory, I get the earthly benefit of blessings.
Who or what has 1st Place in your life?
What drives you in your pursuit of success?
How do you define success?
Have you committed your plans to God?
What are the motives of your heart?
oneguyseyes 