How to Succeed the Biblical Way

by Dr. Ron Jenson
(CIB Magazine, 1997)

Are you successful?

Take a moment and reflect on the question. What is your answer? Now, answer the question from several different angles:

Would your spouse (if applicable) say you are successful? Would you children (if applicable) say you are successful? What would your closest friends says? Your associates at work? You body? Your conscience? What would God say?

Your perspective can dramatically change your answer can't it. Maybe you're wondering rather or not you should be interested in success. After all, Christians ought not pursue success ought they? We need to focus on being faithful not successful. Right?

Well, yes and no. We definitely are to be faithful to all that God asks. But, success is God's idea. He wants you to be fruitful, productive, effective, blessed and SUCCESSFUL.

Look at Joshua 1:8: The words of the law shall not depart out of your mouth but you shall meditate upon them day and night in order to do everything written therein. Then God will make your way prosperous and then you will have good success."

Psalm 1 says that "if we meditate day and night…we shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water that brings forth its fruit in its season…whatever we do will shall prosper."

And, the beatitudes in Matthew 5 all begin with "blessed", the most universal concept for success throughout the entire Bible. God wants you to be blessed and successful.

But, He wants you to succeed HIS way.

Now, let's review what success isn't and then let's look at what it is.

What Success is NOT… How does the culture define success? I ask my audiences to answer that question in the seminars I do in the Christian and general marketplace arena and I always get the same answers. I call them the BIG 5--power, position, prestige, pleasure and prosperity.

The culture (anti-God world system) pushes these. Advertisers tantalize us with the possibility of their attainment. The media glamorizes the results of having them.

Now, don't get me wrong. These aren't bad things. I'd rather you have money (normally) than not have it. But, they are the ultimate or ever major measurements of success according to God's standards. And, they won't make you happy. They won't.

Listen to the pathos in the comments of these famous millionaires. John D. Rockefeller: "I have made many millions but they have brought me no happiness." William Henry Vanderbuilt: "The care of two hundred million is enough to kill anyone. There's no pleasure in it." John Jacob Astor: "I am the most miserable man on the earth." Henry Ford: "I was happier when doing a mechanic's job." Andrew Carnegie: "Millionaires seldom smile."

Perhaps it's all summed up by this commentary from Alexander Solzhenitsyn, the great Russian intellect: "We always pay dearly for chasing after what is cheap."

Glenn Bland in his book Success, published fifteenyears ago, gives the best example I've ever seen of the importance of priorities. It shows vividly that success and money alone can't buy happiness and peace of mind. Bland tells of a meeting in 1923 of the world's most successful financiers held at Chicago's Edgewater Beach Hotel. In terms of money, these financial giants almost literally ruled the world. Look at their names and positions: Charles Schwab, the president of the largest steel company in America; Samuel Insull, president of the largest utility company; Howard Hopson, president of the largest gas company; Arthur Cutten, the great wheat speculator; Richard Whitney, president of the New York Stock Exchange; Albert Fall, the secretary of the interior in President Harding's cabinet; Jesse Livermore, the great "bear" on Wall Street; Ivar Krueger, head of the world's greatest monopoly; Leon Fraser, president of the Bank of International Settlements.

These men were "movers and shakers," the kind of people many envy and wish they could be like. Yet something went terribly wrong with their lives. Twenty-five years later, look where they were:

Charles Schwab went bankrupt.

Samuel Insull died in a foreign land, a fugitive from justice, penniless.

Howard Hopson was insane.

Arthur Cutten was insolvent, and died abroad.

Richard Whitney had just been released from Sing Sing prison.

Albert Fall had just been pardoned from prison and died at home - broke.

Jesse Livermore committed suicide.

Ivar Krueger committed suicide.

Leon Fraser committed suicide. Certainly, material success typified by the four P's doesn't necessarily always result in devastation. In fact, power, prestige, position and prosperity are rather amoral-neither good or bad from a moral position. It's their use or abuse of these that determines the outcome.

The January 28, 1960, issue of The Washington Post, records a letter from John Steinbeck to Adlai Stevenson. In the letter he says, "A strange species we are. We can stand anything God and nature throw at us save only plenty. If I wanted to destroy a nation I would give it too much and I would have it on its knees; miserable, greedy and sick."

What Success Is… In my research of hundreds of top leaders around the world I have consistently asked this question: "At the end of your life, how will you know you have succeeded?" I have NEVER heard any of those interviewed say, "by my power, prosperity, position, prestige or any related areas". In fact, I have heard statements like, "no one every said on their deathbed that they wished they had worked more," or "you have never seen a hearse towing a U- Haul." To the contrary, these men and women said things like:

"How my kids turned out" "Did I live a personally rich and fulfilling life?" "Did I positively change lives?" "Had I built meaningful and deep relationships?" "Did I really love my spouse?" "Did I make a difference?"

What about you? What is you concept of success? Have you deliberately developed it or has it simply evolved through the influence of the culture around you? And, is it the right concept of success? If you are now not so sure, I want to suggest to you a new way of looking at success. Move away from thinking of success as power, prosperity, position, or prestige and begin building a definition of success around real values. What are the things that really count the most in your life?

Think about it. How do you want people to remember you when you die? What will really count?

Biblical success, I believe, is the progressive realization and internalization of all that wants me to be and do.

Let's look at each component of this definition of success. First, note that success from God's perspective is progressive. It is not static and it does not deal just with the results. Success deals with the process…the journey.

God makes it clear that he wants you and me to focus on the "roots" in our lives, not just the fruit. Let God take care of the results while you focus on doing the right things. You work on what you can control like your attitude, your obedience, your thoughts, your words and let God produce what He will.

If you don't do this you will have a tendency to "fake it". You'll put your focus on how you appear outwardly versus cultivating who you are internally. Remember, God hates a pretext to perfection. He deeply desires your progression into His likeness.

There's a difference between progressing and pretending to progress. In Authentic Christianity, Ray Stedman notes how easy It is to make others believe you are spiritually mature. 'It is possible [for the Christian] to avoid the pain and humiliation fo repentance and renewal by maintaining an outward facade of spiritual commitment, moral impeccability, and orthodox behavior. In doing so, he can preserve a reputation for spiritual growth and maturity that is satisfying to the ego and seems to gain much in the way of opportunity for service and the commendation of the Christian community."

Next, success requires a realization of God's desires for me. We gain this understanding through God's Word. We must not only hear it, but study it and meditate upon it. Are you in the Word daily? Are you letting to God's Holy Spirit teach you through the Bible, circumstances, prayer and others in your life. This is the beginning place to growth. What you imbibe and focus on mentally will determine the outcome of your life. Remember,

Sow a though and reap an act. Sow an act and reap a habit. Sow a habit and reap a character. Sow a character and reap a destiny.

Next, we must internalize truth and apply it to our lives. A successful person not only hears the Word of God, but also acts upon it. You may have laudable intentions but the key issue is your behavior. We must progressively apply all of God's revealed truth to our lives. In a real sense Jesus in Lord of all known areas of your life or not Lord at all. He will not make you a success if you try to hold back areas from His control.

Finally, biblical success involves all that God wants me to be and do. We must be progressing in our godly character and conduct. If you are godly in the truest sense of the word, what you do will glorify God, for it will be natural product of your character. God has placed all Christians here to share their faith, lead the lost to Christ, help other Christians mature in their faith and to influence society as light and salt.

Finally, success involves knowing God. When we are with God in heaven, perhaps we will see clearly how fundamental knowing Him is. Paul said, "I count all things [his heritage, his advancement, his reputation] to be loss in light of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord." Malcolm Muggeridge, distinguished British author, summed up his feelings on success in his book Jesus Rediscovered,

I may, I suppose, regard myself as . . . a relatively successful man. People occasionally stare at me in the streets--that's fame. I can fairly easily earn enough to quality for admission to the higher slopes of the Internal Revenue-that's success. Furthermore, with money and a little fame even the elderly, if they care to, may partake of trendy diversions-- that's pleasure. It might happen once in a while that something I said or wrote was sufficiently headed for me to persuade myself that it represented a serious impact on our time--that's fulfillment. Yet, I say to you-and I beg you to believe me multiply these tiny triumphs by a million, add then all together, and they are nothing--less than nothing, A positive impediment--measured against one draught of that living water Christ offers to the spiritually thirsty, irrespective of who or what they are.

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This article is adapted from Dr. Jenson's most recent book entitled Make a Life, Not Just a Living