Korean American Christian Blog

Mother Teresa once said that "God doesn't call you to be successful. God calls you to be faithful."

 J.I. Packer said something similar (I'm paraphrasing here), "God never promised success in terms of the worldly standards. God wants you to be faithful to him." 

 It's interesting how when I read statements like this, I am more prone to accepting them when I am close to God, and am almost disgusted at them when I am far from God.

Deep down everyone longs for success which include fame and power and wealth. Even at the level of altruism, we can use fame and power and wealth to further the next generation, especially our immediate offspring.

 We can use this fame to make God known. We can use this power to move people to God. We can use wealth to finance organizations and groups to act towards the goodwill that God intended. 

However, it's true many will not experience success in terms of how the world or we define it. Adam and Eve were the catalyst to failure not success. Moses, in his role of leadership, mostly wandered. Paul, in his ministry, suffered persecution and did not experience the complete fruits of his labor. Samson, in the end, crumbled under his own power and died. Job, though he experienced happiness in the beginning and end of his life, endured tremendous pain and mourning for most of his life. 

Someone once said that the beginning few chapters of Genesis, and the ending few chapters of Revelation are the entire story of Creation. Everything in between is simply a move of Restoration by God. Restoration that is done by God through his children, his workmen, his vessels.

When we  seek success for success sake, God tends to humble us.

Take a look at everyone that has either fame, power, or wealth. 

Bill Clinton. He had fame. He is still known, but now he is old. He does public speaking engagements for money, and recently has brought Asian journalists from North Korea. Recent activity has made him more relevant, but not like when he was the president of the most dominant nation in the world. The amount of power and influence dissipates over time. His wealth, at his age, can only be passed down to his daughters, because what good is it at his present age? There are so many nice gourmet breakfasts you can eat, there are only so many beautiful golf courses you can play in. 

Billy Graham. He had a good amount of each, I think. He had much fame, much power, and some wealth. None of them were his main goal.

When I, personally, look at him in his advanced 91 years of age, 

I cannot help to think he still has everything.

At the end of earthly life, he would be as ready as any to be "birthed" into the eternal realm.
I can imagine the peace in his mind as he would take the only thing that we are allowed to take with us after death - our spirit. 

And what good is ANYTHING at that age? You can't really enjoy good foods anymore because your taste buds are gone. You can't really enjoy sex or money or influence because all your mental and physical capacities are fleeting and fleeting quickly. At 91, it's a miracle to even sit up without any pain or discomfort let alone stand, and walk and experience life - life on earth.

The only thing left is the soul and the spirit.

We all strive for success even though all that it entails will not last.

The ultimate question is why do I long for that success when I know that I will only be here for 50, 60, 70, 80, 90 years max?

Why do I long to make more money?

Why do I long to seek more acceptance?

Why do I long to gain more respect?

Why do I long to achieve relevance?

It all comes down to what others have fed into my psyche, what culture has done to my mind, what men have enticed with their rhetoric.

I have come to desire so deeply temporal things because that is what I have been told since the day I was born from my parents, and that is what I have been told since this morning when I turn on the television, open the magazine, or drive past billboard signs.

The moment I awake and open my eyes I am reminded that success is what I need, it is what I desire and should desire.

One of my favorite Bible verses says "Seek ye first the kingdom of God, and all these things shall be added onto you."

It was one of my favorites because of the "carrot" message. If I would keep my eyes on the carrot ("all these things") and seek God, then he would grant me "all of those things."

In other words, 

If I would seek God, God would grant me success. 

It is beginning to dawn on me that perhaps God does not intend us to  live for that sole purpose.

Success is defined as "the favorable or prosperous termination of attempts or endeavors."

 Have you ever wondered what happens at the "termination of attempts," at what happens after all is said and done?

Have you ever washed a sink full of dishes and felt a sense of satisfaction after completion?

How long does that satisfaction really last?

If success is simply a nice feeling after something is completed,

where is the meaning of life?

Is life meant for just a nice feeling?

"Ah, I have done well. I am 100 years old, and now I am  happy because I was a success." 

I am always amused when my dog digs through the trash can.

He just cannot get enough of it. He will go through it like he is mining for gold.

I have come to the conclusion that certain bits of the trash is what he really desires. He does find satisfaction in biting into a certain type of trash that he has discovered. He is, in fact, happy when he gets the prized trash he was seeking for.

And every time he finds his treasure,

 I wonder, 

"Am I doing the same thing?" 

 Or does God have something greater for me that my eyes have yet to see, that my ears have yet to hear, that my mind has yet to conceive?