Success

[dddoo7]

Everyone in life has a desire to be successful in one way or another. If 100 random people were asked if they wanted to be successful, one can be almost certain that every one of them would respond in the affirmative.

Why is it that some people in the world seem to find success while it seems that things just never fall into place for others? Many people struggle through their whole lives never finding their success. Others simply lower their expectations for success to their current level of “success” and resolve that there is no other option.

Another important question that must also be asked is, “how do you define success?” To a young teen success might be graduating High School, or getting a job. To a baseball player, success might be getting 55 home runs in a season, or it might be getting inducted into the baseball hall of fame. To a businessman success might be climbing to the top of the corporate ladder, or it might be reaching a certain income level. One’s definition of success can be quite simple or quite complex and greatly varies from person to person depending on their background, their interests, and their desires.

Most people never consider what form or level of success they really desire. One might randomly fall into a certain line of work or degree and follow that path without ever considering whether or not it is the path they want to take. Even if the aspect of success one desires is fully realized, they daily distractions of life sometimes will pull one away from the success they desire. Some people took a job to pay for college and through the distractions of life they worked their entire lives in the job that was supposed to pay for college.

So what is the success you desire? What is the ultimate success that you want to accomplish? Do you want to be a wealthy business man? Do you want to be in the baseball hall of fame? Do you want to have a wonderful spouse and three healthy kids? Do you want to raise your kids knowing about good and evil, God and His Kingdom? Do you want to help others on a daily basis? Do you want to be a Godly son, daughter, mother, father, grandparent, employee, employer? Do you want to live a good Christian life? Do you want to get to heaven?

Do you want to go to heaven? That must be the ultimate success that we desire. At the end of Paul’s life, he said, “I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith, Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day” (2 Timothy 4:7-8) At the end of Paul’s life, he was able to look back and realize the success that he had been working towards his whole life. Heaven must be our ultimate goal of success. Heaven must be our continual focus. When we stand at the end of our life and look back will we say, “I have fought a good fight, finished the course, and kept the faith” or will we suddenly realize that we let life distract us from what really matters? All success is meaningless if we don’t get to heaven. Focus on heaven because your eternal soul depends on it. Fight towards heaven because your eternal soul depends on it. Make heaven your ultimate goal for success and through Christ you will one day receive that crown.