Pursuing Success

And so we are back at that place again, where everyone is ‘freshly’ motivated to set new goals and pursue new ventures, all being done in the hopes of making a success out of one’s life. I want to share a secret with you about success. Nope this is not a secret to success, but a key to proper understanding about success, which will ultimately lead you to it.

In today’s world, we’ve wrongly defined success by judging it by popularity and the possessions one has. It’s about where you take your vacations, the area you live in, the cars you drive, who you know, who you’re married to, the amount of people who like and follow you and how much you have in your bank account. When you say successful, we automatically relate it to a luxurious life. This judgement is not only unbiblical, but it is also untrue. Think about it. I think we all know (of) someone who has made it to the top by fraud or corruption, by stepping on and over others, by gross injustice and manipulation. We all admit that they have plenty, but we hesitate to call them successful. You know why? Because we know that can’t be it, success can’t just be about the end and not the means, it can’t only be about getting there and not how you got there.

Success is not equivalent to prosperity. God makes a distinction between the two when He speaks to Joshua:

“Keep this Book of the Law always on your lips; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful.” Joshua 1:8

Being in relationship with God results in both, yes, but both are not one thing. I believe it is faulty when our gospel only focuses on the one and not the other, hence we have the unbalanced faith that the popular gospel of today has produced. To be prosperous relates to having both good wealth and good health, it is having everything go well with you as 3 John 2 puts it. We see it in Abraham. Genesis 24:1 states that “Abraham was now very old, and the Lord had blessed him in every way.” We are told that he died at a good old age, full of years. This characterizes both the plenty he had (seen in the inheritance he left behind for Isaac and the other gifts for his siblings) and the full life he lived, living well over a hundred years. That’s prosperity, and you’re bound to access it if you walk with God.

But success is not having plenty, but living effectively in line with your purpose. This is where we have to correct our judgement of success. Success cannot be judged outside of one’s purpose of existence or calling. God reveals mankind’s purpose in Genesis 1:26-28, and those are the only ambits in which we can judge man’s success. Is man like God in what he thinks, says and does? Can others see God through him? Is he fruitful and effective, producing others like him, like God? Is man exercising his authority, ruling and dominating in the domain God has given him? These are the questions to ask when judging one’s success. This domain is the field God has called you to.

Success is judged in line with a task, a mission. “Whatever mission Saul sent him on, David was so successful that Saul gave him a high rank in the army…” 1 Samuel 18:5. Success is accomplishing the work I am given. So before I judge your success, I must determine your mandate. A born teacher can never be successful as anything else but a teacher. Sure he can get the doctor’s degree and the doctor’s salary, but he will not make half the impact he would have made had he pursued his passion. I know we live in the times of multi-tasking and side hustles, where one person occupies many roles and offices. But identify the one they’re most effective and impactful in, and it’ll point you to their sole purpose. In most cases, these side hustles are a result of people working in fields they have no passion for, they just lack the courage to pursue success instead of prosperity.

In fact, this verse shows that there’s a link between the two. When David was successful, he was given a higher rank, a promotion, a better pay. In other words, he prospered. I believe Abraham’s prosperity was linked to his success in being what God called him out to be in Genesis 12. Sure when he died he was the father of only a few children and not many nations, but because he believed for the Isaac and so believed for the more, by the time we meet the twelve tribes of Israel, we realize his success. So success is beyond your lifespan, those following you will continue witnessing and benefiting from your success.

So as you make your new goals, make them right, make sure to not deviate from your purpose, because your success is only sourced from it. Do not relocate because all the people there seem successful, but relocate because you see how you make better of what you are there. Don’t choose a career path because it promises more money, choose one that’s your hearts obsession, that’s where the big money is. And remember, the ultimate key to success is partnering with God, so whatever path you chose this year, don’t walk it alone.