7 Habits of Highly Successful Christians

What is success anyway?

From Webster's dictionary:

Success: 2 b: favorable or desired outcome

Failure: 2 a: lack of success

I have really felt like a failure lately. I use "lately" loosely--it's pretty much been my whole life, but that's another story. I have been unable to reach any "desired outcomes". I reach lots of outcomes, but they never seem to be the ones I really desire. Part of that is simply a fear of failure at things that really matter. 

Who's with me?

But what is success anyway? Isn't it just screwing things up over and over again until you get it right? Learning from our mistakes? Gaining experience by doing it wrong? 

Yes, yes and yes, but do we like the periods of screwing things up? Absolutely not! It sucks... 

Here's the real question though: What if we actually do succeed, but we "succeed at things in life that don't really matter"? 

Or, as Stephen Covey put it in the '7 Habits of Highly Successful People', "People may spend their whole lives climbing the ladder of success only to find, once they reach the top, the ladder is leaning against the wrong wall".  

Just chew on that for a while. Really let it sink in. This is a huge American problem. 

By the way, I have read Stephen Covey's book about five or six times. I have learned a lot for sure--but theories are great--life is real.

King Saul's success--not!

The kids and I were discussing success the other day. We were reading in 1 Samuel about when the new king, Saul, gave an unlawful sacrifice. We pondered the judgement that God bestowed upon him. A bit harsh, isn't it? Because Saul gave a sacrifice to God, his kingdom was going to be taken from him?

Doing the right thing, the wrong way.

What a failure. Right?

Saul had good intentions, like so many of us, but he violated God's instructions to accomplish his good deed. You might say he, "followed his heart". 😊

Saul wanted to please God and receive His blessing, but God has prescribed a set way to accomplish this deed. Only certain people were permitted to bring a sacrifice to God on behalf of the people, but Saul decided to take matters into his own hands. Saul offered up the sacrifice himself.

Strike one, Saul!

Let's all judge Saul for being so stupid. We would never do something so stupid. How embarrassing, Saul---awkward! 

Maybe you should go become a greeter at Walmart. If you can handle it, you loser...

Saul did the right thing---the wrong way.

How 'bout us?

As the kids and I related this to our own lives, we pondered what Jesus said:

"Remain in me, and I will remain in you. For a branch cannot produce fruit if it is severed from the vine, and you cannot be fruitful unless you remain in me."

We especially zoomed in on "produce fruit". We figured that if we discovered what fruit we were to produce, Jesus just told us how to produce it the right way. It's to be done through Him, by the Holy Spirit. 

He declared that we CANNOT produce this fruit without Him. 

So, producing fruit is the right thing and by God is the right way. 

Going to the orchard

Lily has been memorizing parts of the letter to the Galatians, so she rattled off the fruits of the Spirit for us. 

"the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,  gentleness, self-control"

I added some that Peter makes mention of:

"For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue, and virtue with knowledge, and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with steadfastness, and steadfastness with godliness, and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love." 

Preach it, Lily!

 "So, Lily, you're saying we will be successful as followers of Christ if we have success in the fruits of the Spirit"?

"Yes, daddy, that's what Jesus is saying".

"But Lily, don't we need to have successful ministries? Take care of orphans and widows? Make disciples? Help the oppressed? Preach the gospel? Become successful pastors? Be successful parents? Run successful businesses? Be successful employees? Be successful missionaries?" Etc, etc, etc...

We ran these ideas around in our heads and asked what is required of us to be successful in the christian life. 

I expressed to the kids that this is something I have been musing for some time now and this one bible study was really giving me some clarity. Renewing my focus.

I reminded them how long it has been since we first made ourselves available to foster or adopt kids. In all it has been nine years with some years off in between when we first moved to Alabama. After such a long time--still with no kids in the house--you do find yourself asking God, "what's up?". And there are many times when we have just plain given up and feel like failures. 

Are we? Failures I mean. Are we failures? Should we fight harder?

Is God 'worried' about all the kids that need homes? Is God 'worried' about all the aborted children? Is God not powerful enough to give us success? Does God not care if we have success in this ministry? 

Don't get me wrong, these things do matter, but are these the things God has planned for our success? 

I think I can say a resounding, "NO"! 

All these good deeds I listed are the works we are created for, "For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them", but they are NEVER a measure of our success. NEVER! 

Americans are succeeders. Overcomers. But in the Kingdom of God, the rules are different. Success is defined differently by God. The ladder leans against a different wall.

When we do the right thing the right way, we will be successful in the Kingdom of God. 

God is in the process of transforming us from crap to glory. 

From a polished turd to a glorious masterpiece. 

The process is slow--very slow. But the end goal--the success--is when we are transformed completely into the image of Christ. 

We all want this to take place more quickly and we definitely think we have made progress when we have ministry success or parental success or some other external success, but these are not accurate measurements of our success in the Kingdom. 

Ask yourself. What do you think you have success in? Growing more joyful, or becoming a better employee? Growing more patient, or becoming a better pastor? Growing in self-control, or growing as a better teacher? Growing more kind, or growing to be a better parent? 

How are you measuring your success? By God's standard or man's standard? Which building have you placed your ladder against?

I'm going to give myself a big, OUCH! Because if you can't say, "amen", you'd better say, "ouch".

"Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven".