By: Steve Wilmot
Everyone wants to be successful, but what success is widely varies. As I get older, I wonder more and more if I’ve been successful as a husband, father, grandparent, pastor, and friend.
I once asked one of my daughters if I was a success, and she said, “It depends how you define success, Dad.” She’s right. How do you measure success?
The most common measurement is results. The problem with using that as the measuring stick is results are out of our hands. We can’t control them.
Think of a wife and mother who states her goal is to have a loving, harmonious, happy family. Who can block that goal? Every person in her family.
Or think of the church leader whose aim is to reach his community for Christ and grow a large church. Who can prevent the fruition of that goal? Everyone in his church and in the community.
It’s easy to consider ourselves a failure when we don’t see the results we crave. Then we can’t figure out why we’re angry at those who ruin our plans.
Why we’re disappointed in other people who aren’t helping us reach our targets. And why we’re depressed is because lack of results proves we’re a failure.
The real problem is we accept the wrong definition of success. Results cannot be the mark of success because they are outside of our control.
Results are nice, don’t get me wrong. I’d love to have a storybook marriage, and a perfect family, but I can’t use them to determine whether I’m a success or a failure. So, what is the proper measuring stick for success?
Former U.S. Senator Mark Hatfield told of touring Calcutta with Mother Teresa. She took him to the so-called “House of Dying” where she cared for sick children in their last days. In addition, it’s where the poor lined up by the hundreds to receive medical attention.
Hatfield watched Mother Teresa minister to these people — feeding and nursing those left by others to die. The sheer magnitude of the suffering overwhelmed him.
“How can you bear the load without being crushed by it?” Hatfield asked. Mother Teresa replied, “My dear Senator, I am not called to be successful. I am called to be faithful.”
Mother Teresa learned she can’t define success by her ability to eliminate hunger, heal every sick person, and care for the dying. She’s a success because she is faithful, regardless of results.
Faithfulness is sticking with something. You don’t give up, even when you feel overwhelmed by the magnitude of the need or frustrated by setbacks.
Faithful men and women stand up again after they’re knocked down. They keep at the task, even when they’re exhausted.
Hall of Fame NFL running back Walter Payton gained the equivalent of nine miles during his career with the Chicago Bears. Nine miles! An announcer heard that statistic and made an insightful observation. “That’s with somebody knocking him down every 4.6 yards!”
Even the best are knocked down. The key to success is getting back up and running again just as hard. The key is to be faithful. Success is remaining faithful.
In the months before his death, Paul didn’t list his achievements to determine if he was a success. The number of churches he started. How many unbelievers he led to Jesus. How many of them he helped mature as a Christ-followers. He didn’t point to all he suffered as a Christian.
His catalogue of accomplishments is impressive, but they weren’t what he used to gauge his success. “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have remained faithful” (2 Timothy 4.7). He fought until the final bell.
He kept running until he crossed the finish line. He faithfully stayed at his task until he died. That’s success.
Jesus assessed success the same way. In one of his parables, he tells of a master who went on a long journey. In his absence, he entrusted his wealth and property to three of his servants.
When he returned, the master evaluated success by their faithfulness. Not by how much they grew his wealth, but faithfulness. The master said, “Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!” (Matthew 25.21). He didn’t commend their financial savvy. He applauded their faithfulness.
Dear Christian, God doesn’t expect you to be perfect, just faithful. Faithful to love God with all your heart. Faithful to do what he tells you to do.
Dear parent and grandparent, God doesn’t call you to raise kids who never get in trouble. He calls you to be faithful to love them, pray them through, teach them the Word of God, and set an example worthy of imitation.
The measure of success is faithfulness. When you get Home, may Jesus applaud you and say, “Well done, good and faithful servant!” That’s success.
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Steve Wilmot is a former Edgerton, Ohio area pastor who now seeks “to still bear fruit in old age” through writing. He is the author of seven books designed to assist believers to make steady progress on their spiritual journey.
