Tracey Holland

The Measure of Success

When we are not standing on God’s solid rock foundation, we are in essence, lost. Left in this place, we will surely go astray. Being lost can sometimes mean we are unable to find our way. We struggle with navigating life. Maybe we’ve wasted or squandered an opportunity. At other times we could be confused or bewildered by something that has happened. When we are preoccupied about something and we can’t seem to shake thinking about it, we get lost in thought. All of these examples produce stress and a feeling of loneliness. We don’t like to feel this way, so to combat all of this we naturally gravitate toward things or people who provide comfort in these stressful times.

Think about it for a minute. When you are lost and don’t know where to turn or which way to go and life has you feeling out of control, what do you do? Who or what do you rely on? Is it yourself, your past experiences and decisions, your family and friends, a spouse or significant other, maybe God or His Word?

Do you turn to a consistent place of comfort or advice? My guess is you’ve never stopped to think about it. After all, when is there time in this “rat race” we call “life”? We just keep bouncing from one event or experience to another. Life is filled with places to go, people to see, more work to be done. This “rat race” and being super busy is how we are told we should measure success.

Or is it?

Webster’s definition of success is the attainment of wealth, favor, or eminence. Society has conditioned us to believe more is better. More money, more house, more prestigious job, more friends, more fame, more power, more activity involvement the list is truly endless for how we traditionally define the successful life.

One thing we may not realize is our identity is wrapped up in all of this. Think about how you answer the questions, “Who are you?” or “What do you do?” Automatically, we find ourselves answering in a way that links us to what we value. “Well, I’m a mother of three children.” “I’m a teacher or counselor”. “I’m a baker.” “I’m an engineer.” “I’m married to so and so.”

We define our lives by what we do for a living. Status is determined by how we answer these questions. We find our identity, self-worth and value as a human being linked to whatever job or role we play in society, albeit professional or personal.

But what if you lose your job? What if something tragic happens? Then what?    

Where are you and how do you answer these questions when asked?