Life of success

by Cameron Smith

If you ask ten people what their idea of success in life looks like, you will most likely get ten different ideas and versions of success. The world we live in and the environment around us shapes us and we unconsciously  develop an image of what a successful life looks like. From the time we start going to school as kids we start thinking of what success looks like. If we are not mindful, we will live our lives conformed to the image in our mind and strive towards have the successful life we see in our minds. 


Too often we will compare ourselves to people who seem to have more than us and will always be trying to acquire the same in our lives. This is a very dangerous way to live. Yes, it is dangerous. Dangerous because, we can very easily be distracted from what God has called us to do. It is a very subtle thing because we will be busy doing different things but they might not be things that God wants us to work on. 


One of the definitions for the word 'success' is the attainment of popularity or profit. This definition is one that does not line up with the Word of God because a man or women can live a successful life without ever attaining popularity or profit. There are many examples both in the Bible and in the word today. It is not wrong to be popular or to make a profit but it is wrong to evaluate a successful life solely based on popularity and profit. In Genesis 39:2 the Bible tells us that "The Lord, was with Joseph, and he was a successful man; and he was in the house of his master the Egyptian." At that point in his life, Joseph was neither popular nor making a profit. He was at one of the worst stages of his life and yet the Bible says that was successful. He was successful being the plan and purposes of God were being accomplished in his life. 


As Christians we need to evaluate our level of success based on how well we are doing and accomplishing the purpose God has for our lives. It is not wrong to dream big and do great things but the motives need to be judged. Is the dream or desire just to be popular or to look better than another person? Is the dream truly inspired by God and the desire to do great things to glorify God? 


In Mark 8:36, The Bible says, "What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, yet forfeit his soul?" Gaining the world is not the problem here. The problem is with forfeiting or losing the soul. We will lose our soul when we compare ourselves to others and start running a race that we are not called to run. We need to discipline ourselves to run the race that is set before us and resist the temptation to run someone else's race! (Hebrews 12:1)


A successful life for a christian is one when the person has done all that God wanted done in their life. That is when we will hear the words "Well done. My good and faithful servant." That is undoubtedly a successful life. 

A leadership must!

The one thing that every leader has to do if he wants to lead well is he must lead by example. This is not a new idea in anyway but for some reason I keep running into leaders and even find myself at times trying to lead people without first being a good example!

If you are a leader who leads by example I want to thank you! Keep doing what you are doing! If you are like me and mess up in this area at times, lets use this as a reminder that there is only one way to lead and that is to lead by example!