The Bible repeatedly tells us that God wants us to be successful in life. Success is simply discovering God’s will for our lives and then doing it. This is completely different from what the world tells us success looks like. We’re told that the more followers we have on social media, the more money sitting in our bank accounts, the more possessions we have, the more friends we have, the more academic achievements we have, and the more we’re paid, the more successful we are. This type of success is all about us. Godly success is all about Him. He helps us to be successful for His glory and His kingdom. He equips us with gifts and skills that will help us to be successful in whatever He’s calling us to do. He promises to be with us and to help us achieve what He’s asking. Following God doesn’t mean we won’t have any worldly success, but we need to be asking ourselves which kind of success we’re striving for. Jesus told a story about workers who were all paid the same wage, no matter what time of the day they had started work (you can find this story in Matthew 20). Many of us can read this and think that it’s unfair. The more work that’s done, the more successful and appreciated the workers should be. But the values of God’s kingdom are the opposite of our worldy values. The Message version describes it as ‘the Great Reversal: many of the first ending up last, and the last first’. The question is: are we trying to advance ourselves, or to advance God’s kingdom? Do we want to have the most in this world, or do the most for God?

What Now?

Take a moment to ask yourself: ‘Am I trying to advance myself, or advance God’s kingdom?’ If the answer is yourself, ask God to change your heart.