What is True Success? And Who Decides?

As I reread what I have written it sounds very disjointed.  My mind seems to be going from one point to another.  So I try again!  At the moment I am trying to think about what the real issue is in my mind.  Is it the thought that some people are arrogant -- my judgment -- and present themselves as honorable to the general public?  The eight by ten glossy folks! Or, is it  that I want them, and all of us, to know that to gain attention though unsavory ways may be attractive to the news media.  But is not true success!  I think I am still caught in God’s sharp pronouncement of harsh judgement on the fallen people of Israel. That we read, from Zephaniah, in yesterdays post about people who had moved away from God; striving for power and control.   And my wonder this morning began with the question: “I wonder what the goal of such behavior is?   And why some choose to follow that path for living?”  My answer was: “Their goal is recognition and as much money and they can get.”

The other tug in my mind was how unfair that method of success is to those who achieve status and money through the most honest of ways.  And I was reminded of a classmate from seminary who came into the refectory, on day during lunch, waving her hand in the air and taking about how tired she was of hearing how sinful it was to be rich.  I never asked, but I assume that she may have come from a wealthy family.  And possibly resented the suggestion that all wealthy people came by their money through dishonest means. 

There is this dichotomy presented throughout the Bible.  I don’t believe that God/Jesus were at anytime criticizing people who had been bless by their honest labor. That is not the point of discussion in those texts.  It is those who gain notoriety and wealth by their uncaring and dishonest methods.  

I would like to share with you Psalm 92 which speaks about this dichotomy:

1 It is good to praise the LORD and make music to your name, O Most High, 2 to proclaim your love in the morning and your faithfulness at night, 3 to the music of the ten-stringed lyre and the melody of the harp. 4 For you make me glad by your deeds, O LORD; I sing for joy at the works of your hands. 5 How great are your works, O LORD, how profound your thoughts! 6 The senseless man does not know, fools do not understand, 7 that though the wicked spring up like grass and all evildoers flourish, they will be forever destroyed. 8 But you, O LORD, are exalted forever. 9 For surely your enemies, O LORD, surely your enemies will perish; all evildoers will be scattered. 10 You have exalted my horn like that of a wild ox; fine oils have been poured upon me. 11 My eyes have seen the defeat of my adversaries; my ears have heard the rout of my wicked foes. 12 The righteous will flourish like a palm tree, they will grow like a cedar of Lebanon; 13 planted in the house of the LORD, they will flourish in the courts of our God. 14 They will still bear fruit in old age, they will stay fresh and green, 15 proclaiming, "The LORD is upright; he is my Rock, and there is no wickedness in him." (Psalm 92 NLT)

There is clearly a difference between those who find success in God’s counsel.  And those who chose the path of  compromise and self centered gain.  Check out verse six and seven!

It is an interesting to think about success! What it is, what it means, and who is to decide if a life is successful or not. 

Success in the eyes and ears of the beholder -- the human assessment -- is foolishness to God!  Unless!!!  Unless the success comes from a heart grounded by God.  Unless the success is internal -- Spirt made.  Unless the success is caused, and created, by the production of  fruit -- good fruit,  Born out of the strength and power of the human heart that has been “planted into the LORD’S house and flourishes in the courts of our God.” Thus living daily -- hourly -- in God’s name to God’s glory.  

I am thinking that to be successful has two, at least two, different definitions.  To those who want only what is meaningful for themselves.  Success must mean getting what they want at all cost.  Showing others that because they have money, thus power, they are better and more successful at getting what is important.  To others success is living a life of integrity and compassion with the awareness that what they have, great or small, is enough. 

How great are your works, O LORD, how profound your thoughts!