“Americans understand that some people will earn more money than others, and we don't resent those who, by virtue of their efforts, achieve incredible success. That's what America's all about.”
In the State of the Union address this past week, Obama said the quote above. While I don’t intend to delve into, support or deny the politics of his general beliefs, I do believe his statement is very indicative of views we’ve all believed at some point. This isn’t an open door to bash on our country; however, it is a chance to objectively see the culture we’ve all been hopelessly conditioned by, for better and for worse. And at the heart of that culture is an idol of success.
The other day, I was driving on my way to an event where I got to present about my exchange experience in India this summer and mingle with upcoming candidates for the program. As I drove, I was preparing myself hastily to live up to all I felt I should; prepping myself on how to speak, act and interact in a way to impress people. When I reached the end of my frantic preparations and began to pray, I suddenly realized how ridiculous it all was. The disconnect hit me, and God spoke quite clearly:
“Successful, or faithful?”
He was asking for a choice - much like I think He asks all of us in some way. Our calling is not to do big things for God, to accomplish mighty tasks. Instead, I believe we are called, as Christians, to walk steadfastly, humbly with God, ready to please Him at every moment instead of people.
Our success, much to our surprise sometimes, isn’t to keep busy either. And there is nothing like success to keep our hearts crowded and blind; to keep our feet moving but our heart stagnant, to keep our eyes on the golden prize of approval instead of our loving Savior’s grace. Success makes us far too busy to see our own hearts, to take the time, rest and meditation to dig down deep into them. And while these deep excavations, hand and hand with the Lord, are most time-consuming and most formative in our relationship with Christ and our witness to others, we’re busy keeping face. We’re caught up in a whirl of demands that really aren’t needs at all. We’re trapped trying to find success in a world that can never really deliver it.
1 Chronicles 5 talks about the half-tribe of Manasseh, who had just defeated the Hagrites, Jetur, Naphis, and Nodab. After triumphing, they plunder the land and carry off 250,000 sheep, 2,000 donkeys, 50,000 camels, and even 100,000 living men. The leaders of the half-tribe of Manasseh are valiant and well-versed as warriors: in verse 24, it says, “They were they heads of their fathers’ houses: Epher, Ishi, Eliel, Azriel, Jeremiah, Hodaviah, and Jahdiel, mighty warriors, famous men, heads of their fathers’ houses.
“But they broke faith with the God of their fathers.”
It sounds like they were doing pretty well there at the beginning, until they developed an unfaithful seed in their hearts which grew to overtake them. With so much prized spoil resting in their possession, from their win, they forget the Mighty Hand that delivered the win in the first place. After all, they had so many livestock, so many people, under their command. It’s an easy temptation to fall into, and it’s one, if we’re honest, none of us are complete strangers to.
It’s important to remember, then, that we can be strong, well-known and well-respected leaders, without being faithful. These traits certainly aren’t mutually exclusive, but sometimes, we can begin to think that, with being strong, well-loved and a leader, faithfulness comes with the territory. Surely if we are well loved and are leading well in our communities, then it must mean we're being faithful as well? But God doesn’t see human hearts the way we do, and His heart for us is to be so much more than strong representations of our personalities and talents. It's to be a Godly, faithful, in all of our strength and leadership.
In all this, I don’t mean that success or hard work is bad. There are plenty of examples, historic and modern, that are beautiful examples of success that have been helpful and humble. I merely mean that, when our personal success is our highest goal, we will never live out the desires of God’s heart; and when faithfulness becomes our highest goal, success is beautifully redefined.
To be faithful becomes our understanding of success.
What’s pretty incredible is that we are indeed a culture, a people, who relentless pursue the impossible, whether we know it or not. We yearn for things we cannot understand; we love things we cannot comprehend; we search for things we cannot find apart from Christ...we’re a generation and a people that seeks the impossible, that seeks the deep beauty and fulfillment that God offers, and we’re on a journey to discover that we can only find these things through faithfulness, not success. We can’t earn it; we can only surrender. We yearn for that joy, that approval, that fulfillment and beautiful exhaustion that success can bring, and we were made for it. Because we were made for Christ. In faithfulness, we find all that in Him.
He may very well lead us into a huge calling where we become famous, well-respected leaders, but it’s crucial that we understand that it will only be when we’re rooted in the small, humble devotion of faithfulness and of bringing glory solely to His name. Not until our hearts are faithful - not until we let our addiction to success go. Yet wherever He calls us, I believe He summons us not to love dramatically, but to love deeply and extravagantly. Not to achieve incredible success, but to walk out an incredible faith in Him. It may not be big or showy, as our culture’s success often is, but it’s faithful. And take heart, because in a busy culture hungry for Christ, that humble love is often what speaks loudest.
Written by:
Holly Fohr
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