How Does God Define Success?

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Google Podcasts | Spotify | RSS

| Getting Motivated series |

The Wrong Definition Kills Motivation

Our definition of success is absolutely fundamental to the process of getting motivated. It defines our target, our aim. What are we getting motivated to do after all? Moreover, last time we saw what happens when we have the wrong idea about what success is, about what is required of us. In the Parable of the Talents, the third servant failed to get motivated in large part because he believed that he couldn’t ever succeed. He had worked up in his mind that the master was a “hard man” with exacting standards that he could never meet; so, instead of trying, he gave up before he ever got started.

Now we saw how wrong he was about the character and expectations the master had, but this story hits almost too close to home. When we feel that we can’t succeed, it’s virtually impossible for any of us to get the motivation to put our all into trying. This highlights just how critical it is to have the right definition of success.

We might let our own ideas about what’s important, about what success looks like drive our motivation. They can also subtly influence our understanding of what God expects of us. I hope to write more on that struggle in another series, but for this series, I want to close us out this time by outlining the answer to the most fundamental question to motivation: How are we going to define success? So, what is the proper definition of success? In other words, how does God define it?

The Foundation: Christ

In 1 Corinthians 3, Paul gives a powerful illustration of God’s answer to this question. He begins by speaking of his own ministry, his own success, using the analogy of building a house. Naturally, this process begins with laying a foundation: “According to the grace of God given to me, like a skilled master builder I laid a foundation” (1 Corinthians 3:10).

To put this analogy to work for us, we have to understand what this foundation is, and Paul tells us: “no one can lay a foundation other than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ” (1 Corinthians 3:11, emphasis added). Think of it this way: if you’re aiming to build something that lasts, you must first be sure that you lay a proper foundation because it’s the foundation that provides endurance/stability. Now, a foundation provides this endurance, but it also provides boundaries/limits. If, while you are building on that foundation, you start to construct rooms outside of the boundaries of the foundation, those rooms wouldn’t endure. Moreover, this can even put the entire structure at risk.

So then, if we want our work to have any chance of producing lasting success that has eternal significance it must be built on Christ. Anything not built on Christ will not last.

The Work

What does this mean for those of us who just have “regular” jobs and don’t work at a church? Whether you work at a church, at a Christian ministry, as an accountant for a company, as a stay-at-home parent, or anything in between, this verse has the same meaning and significance. None of our work automatically qualifies and none of us lack opportunities to do this work; however, all of our work must be examined. In fact, this lesson doesn’t just apply to our job/vocation, but it is meant to apply to EVERYTHING that we do. Consider these examples:

As a husband/wife we’re taught to bring our spouse closer to God (e.g., Ephesians 5:26). As a parent we are taught to teach our children about the truth and be examples of Christ to them (e.g., Deuteronomy 11:19). In relating to other believers (whether as their pastor or simply a fellow believer), we are told to build them up in the truth and to set an example of Christian living (e.g., 1 Timothy 4:12). In relating to unbelievers, we are told to make use of the time we have to impact them, graciously talking about the truth (e.g., Colossians 4:5-6). Even in our day-to-day work serving our employer or our family we are taught to do so as if we were serving Christ himself and not just man so that people would see the positive differences that Christian living produces (e.g., Ephesians 6:7).

The theme of these examples shows us what it means to build on the foundation that is Christ. In whatever we do we are following the example that Christ gave us so that others might come closer to Him through their interactions with us.

It’s Not About the Size of the House

So, this is the work that we are called to do, but what does it mean to be successful in doing this work? The substance of Paul’s analogy provides so much insight into this question:

Let each one take care how he builds upon it. … Now if anyone builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw — each one’s work will become manifest, for the Day will disclose it, because it will be revealed by fire, and the fire will test what sort of work each one has done.
1 Corinthians 3:10-13

Notice what’s not in this description. It doesn’t say “be careful what you build: a shack, a one-story home, or a mansion”; instead, it emphasizes how we are to build: what materials we use. I think this difference is in direct opposition to the way that we think about success. We focus so much on the results of our work as the measure of their success. We think a lot about whether our neighbor will respond to the gospel if we share it, whether our co-worker will accept our invitation to church, whether our spouse will be offended if we confront them about sin, whether our son will be mad at us if we discipline him.

I think sometimes we worry so much about these results that we never end up doing the work because we aren’t sure how they will respond. When we view their response as our responsibility, we become paralyzed, unable to do the work God has called us to. But here’s the good news: Christ never made us responsible for their response, never made us responsible for the results.

In other words, like we touched on last time, God does not measure our success by the results of our efforts.

Am I Successful?

So, our success isn’t determined by how big the house is, but the quality of the materials that went into it (“gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay straw”). In this we can hear the echoes of 1 Samuel 16:7, that God doesn’t evaluate success by outward appearance (results) but by the care and quality of our efforts (by the heart). However, this leaves us with a problem. The results are what’s visible. The inputs are not visible to us. So, how do we know if we are meeting God’s definition of success?

As Paul told us, we know that eventually it will be made known when it’s tested by fire at the end of the age, but at that point what’s done is done:

If the work that anyone has built on the foundation survives, he will receive a reward. If anyone’s work is burned up, he will suffer loss, though he himself will be saved, but only as through fire.
1 Corinthians 3:14-15

I don’t want to wait till the end only to find that my work did not survive the fire and that I “will suffer loss”. It would be far better to know if we are succeeding while there is still something we can do to adjust. How can we do the same so that we might know and be able to improve the quality of the materials we are using? The answer is simpler than you might think: We ask.

We Have a Partner

In keeping with the example of construction, the materials that go into a building like concrete are often subject to testing along the way to make sure they will last. Our conversations with God in prayer and reading of the Bible serve in this capacity to test and improve the quality of the materials we are using to build by showing us what’s hidden from us in our hearts (Hebrews 4:12). This is where our private relationship with God fuels our public work for God. (Look at our series Talking with God for more on that cultivating that relationship.)

This is the good news that overcomes every challenge we’ve faced in this series as we’ve struggled together to find motivation. As we struggle with questions like “Why go through the trouble?” God isn’t bothered by the questions, but ready to encourage us (see the first post). When we feel inadequate, God comforted us that He hasn’t called us to be the best but simply to be faithful (see the second post). When we feel that fear of failure, God relieved us of being responsible for the outcome (see the third post). So that we could set our focus just on the work He has called us to do, leaving the results up to Him (like we talked about this time).

In all of this we can be assured of this, we have never been alone. He is and has always been willing to be our partner, carrying the burden of our success but letting us feel the joy of participating in the work with Him. This is all He’s asking of us. So: Will you partner with Him?