Success must be overrated. I'm not sure what my major is. I don't know what my life will look like in 10 years. I don't know where I'm living next year. I don’t look and dress like the celebrities on the magazines. I don’t have the perfect boyfriend or the perfect life. Sometimes my minivan breaks down or the doorhandles even fall off. By the world’s standards, I must be a failure.
I think a fear that most young adults have at some point in their lives is the struggle of measuring up to what society tells us is true success. We are filled with the lies that to be successful we have to be the best. Is this career path good enough? Do I measure up to the media's standards? Will I earn enough money? What will people think of my life decisions? Will I make my friends or family proud? We fall into the trap of playing a guessing game of trying to find what is the most impressive answer to all of life’s questions. We want to be the best we can be, but evermore so, we want the world to call us the best. This worldly definition of the word success is defined as “ the accomplishment of a purpose or favorable outcome; the attainment of prosperity or profit.” By this definition, true success is measured by wealth, glory, popularity, beauty, and earthly profit. While all these things are good, and honestly would be hard to say no to, this worldly definition forgets about a very important person. It forgets about God.
This past month I’ve been particularly stressing out like a typical college kid (okay, probably more than a typical college kid) when I finally opened up the Bible. I think I had gotten to the point where I didn’t care if God wrote my life plan in the sky or if it came in the mail through the Hogwarts postal system… I wanted a real answer. What the heck am I supposed to do with my life? Fortunately, I got an answer. Unfortunately, it was’t the answer I wanted.
I opened the Bible to Matthew 28:19. The verse is “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Sprit.” Go make disciples. Don’t go and find the perfect worldly major. Don’t go and attain worldly success. Make disciples. He didn't tell us to be millionaires, to be good people, or to find the perfect job in the eyes of society. He doesn’t want us to be anything but His. He asked us to convert the world for His sake.
I think a fear that most young adults have at some point in their lives is the struggle of measuring up to what society tells us is true success. We are filled with the lies that to be successful we have to be the best. Is this career path good enough? Do I measure up to the media's standards? Will I earn enough money? What will people think of my life decisions? Will I make my friends or family proud? We fall into the trap of playing a guessing game of trying to find what is the most impressive answer to all of life’s questions. We want to be the best we can be, but evermore so, we want the world to call us the best. This worldly definition of the word success is defined as “ the accomplishment of a purpose or favorable outcome; the attainment of prosperity or profit.” By this definition, true success is measured by wealth, glory, popularity, beauty, and earthly profit. While all these things are good, and honestly would be hard to say no to, this worldly definition forgets about a very important person. It forgets about God.
This past month I’ve been particularly stressing out like a typical college kid (okay, probably more than a typical college kid) when I finally opened up the Bible. I think I had gotten to the point where I didn’t care if God wrote my life plan in the sky or if it came in the mail through the Hogwarts postal system… I wanted a real answer. What the heck am I supposed to do with my life? Fortunately, I got an answer. Unfortunately, it was’t the answer I wanted.
I opened the Bible to Matthew 28:19. The verse is “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Sprit.” Go make disciples. Don’t go and find the perfect worldly major. Don’t go and attain worldly success. Make disciples. He didn't tell us to be millionaires, to be good people, or to find the perfect job in the eyes of society. He doesn’t want us to be anything but His. He asked us to convert the world for His sake.
I’ve finally been able to start to realize the majesty of God’s crazy plan and the fact that His plan is simply that, it is His. Crazy thought, but I might not need to know what my life is going to look like in 10 years. I don't even need to know about my tomorrows; they have been put in the palm of His hand. God isn't going to trick us. Even more than we want to know where to go, God is sitting on the edge of His seat waiting for us to arrive at the next step. If we let Him have everything, He will give us everything. You can’t be lost if you have the one thing that you need in life. In the end, God isn’t going to say, “Well done, good and successful servant,” but He will say “Well done, good and faithful servant.” Stop aiming for success and be faithful. The secret to true happiness is simply surrendering to God.
"Delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart." -Psalm 37:4