In the Christian faith, we find that many of the values of society
are turned on their head. Things that most people take for granted are often
completely rejected in biblical Christianity, and things that most reject are
frequently accepted with open arms.
What it means to have a successful life is one example of this.
The Christian faith and mainstream society could hardly be more different in how
they understand success in life.
To highlight this difference, let’s think about the lives of two fictional
people we will call Matthew and James.
Matthew
First, here is something about Matthew.
He was born into a loving family and had a very happy childhood. His
memories of being a boy are nearly all good ones. At school he was one of the most
intelligent in his year, and he came away with exceptional grades. He was also
very athletic and played in various sports teams, where his abilities stood
out.
After school, Matthew went to university to study law, and he graduated
near the top of his class. He then started working for a prestigious law firm,
where his career has been advancing. Even when he began this job he made a lot
of money, but now in his mid-thirties he is a very wealthy man. What is more,
he enjoys his job and rarely misses a day at work as he has always experienced
excellent health.
Matthew is a good-looking man and women find him very attractive. But
there is only one woman that he is interested in. In his early twenties he
married his childhood sweetheart, a stunningly beautiful woman. Their marriage
is a real delight to him. And he now has two healthy and happy young children. He
and his wife have bought a very expensive house in a posh neighborhood, and they
both drive really nice cars.
Between school and university, Matthew spent a year traveling
around the world, an experience that he loved. He has many good friends, and he
has often entertained them with accounts of his adventures during that time. He
and his wife have traveled widely together too, staying in five star hotels in numerous
exotic places. Holidays recently have been nearer to home, since there are the
children to think about, but seeing his kids enjoy themselves have made these
the best holidays ever.
Matthew has always loved outdoor sports, and he is a leader in his
local mountain rescue team. On several occasions he has helped to rescue
stranded people, and more than one person owes their life to what he has done
in this role. The local media have covered some of these rescues, meaning that he
has appeared on TV a few times. He is very well known in the community as a
result, and is very highly regarded.
Despite his busy life, Matthew also finds the time to do some
voluntary tutoring in numeracy for a charity. He helps people with learning
difficulties get to grips with the basics of arithmetic, and he finds this very
rewarding. It has also meant that his reputation is even greater than it would
otherwise have been.
When it comes to religion, Matthew believes that God exists, but
other than that, he doesn’t have any particularly strong beliefs. He does make
a bit of an effort to live in a way that he thinks is right, but that’s about
it.
Evaluating Matthew’s
life
It must surely be true that in nearly every society and culture
around the world, most people would say that Matthew is living a very
successful life. He has got it all, hasn’t he? He has excellent health, a great
family, good friends, lots of money, intelligence, a job he likes, good looks,
athletic ability, exciting experiences, esteem and respect. Most people would
give their eye teeth to have what he has. They would be in awe of him. His life
is almost the definition of a successful life, isn’t it?
In a Christian perspective, however, it is no exaggeration to say
that Matthew is living an extremely unsuccessful life. The whole reason he is
alive is because God created him. And God did this so that the two of them
could have a relationship. Because Matthew has no relationship with God, he is
missing the core of what any successful life must have.
What is more, Matthew has not taken hold of the salvation that is
found in Jesus Christ. This means that he is still in his sins, and he is
therefore on track for eternal punishment from God. Matthew is therefore
failing utterly to plan for his future. In the big picture of human existence
that stretches for millions of years into eternity, he is going down a path
that will involve being miserable for almost all of the time ahead of him.
Importantly, the fact that Matthew has saved people’s lives and
does charity work doesn’t stop his life from being so unsuccessful. God is the
all in all, and without knowing him and the salvation he gives, someone’s life
can only be described as a disaster, as a catastrophe, as extremely
unsuccessful.
That is not to say that charitable work and helping people in need
is unimportant. But even if someone spends every waking moment helping people
and does not have Christ, they have still totally failed to have success in
life. Christ is that important.
James
Now, here is something about James.
His childhood was in many ways a difficult one. His parents
divorced when he was six, and it took him a long time to get over that. He also
experienced health problems, suffering from several different ailments.
Because of his poor health, James missed time at school, and in
tests he consistently came near the bottom of his class. Even when he was able
to attend school without interruption for a while, however, he struggled to
understand. He was a slow learner, and he kept finding that just as he was
beginning to grasp something, the class moved on to the next lesson before he
was ready. He finished school with very few qualifications.
James would love to have gone on to study at college, but he just
didn’t get the grades. He has had several jobs over the years, but he was never
particularly keen on any of them. Now in his mid-thirties, he has a job
collecting refuse from houses. This is perhaps the worst job he has had. He has
to start work very early in the morning, the pay is poor, and he finds the work
humiliating. He can often tell that people are looking down on him for doing
this job.
Because of his low pay, James lives in a small apartment in an
unpleasant neighborhood. In winter he can only afford to heat one room. He
doesn’t feel cut out for the single life and would love to be married, but
women have never really shown much interest in him, and every attempt he has
made to date has ended in failure. There was one woman he dated for a while,
and he had high hopes that he would marry her, but it didn’t work out. He
really doesn’t like to think about that.
So James lives alone, and he suffers from loneliness. This isn’t
helped by the fact that he has never found it easy to make friends. He has also
continued to experience health problems over the years. If he is honest, much
of his life has been a very hard fight.
Although he was not raised to be religious, when he was still a
young boy James became a Christian. Today, he is a devout believer and is
serious about living his life for Christ.
Evaluating James’s
life
It is surely true that in nearly every culture around the world,
most people would think that James is living an unsuccessful life. He suffers
in many different ways, and there are no signs that his sufferings will
significantly decrease any time soon. Most people would give their eye teeth to
avoid a life like his.
That is not to say that people would be unsympathetic to the
situation James finds himself in. They would understand that he has been dealt
a difficult hand. But they wouldn’t think for a moment that he was living a
successful life.
In a Christian perspective, however, James’s life is actually far,
far more successful than the lives of a large majority of people. He is in
relationship with his maker, and he has been saved from his sins. This means
that as far as the long term is concerned, he is on course for millions of
years of feeling fantastic after death. Almost all of the time ahead of him
looks wonderful.
James’s situation is similar to that of the apostle Paul when he
spoke about his sufferings producing for himself “an eternal weight of glory”
(2 Corinthians 4:17 ). For James, the
words of Revelation also apply, where we are told that God will “wipe away
every tear from their eyes, and there will no longer be any death or sadness or
crying or pain” (Revelation 21:4).
James may be held in contempt by many, just as Paul was regarded
as “the refuse of the world, the filth of everything” (1 Corinthians 4:13 ). But James is putting all his eggs in one basket. He is
like a man who finds treasure in a field and sells all that he has to buy that
field (Matthew 13:44). He is like a pearl merchant who finds an extremely
valuable pearl and sells everything he has to buy that pearl (Matthew 13:45 -46).
James is in many ways similar to Lazarus in Jesus’ story (Luke 16:19 -31), who suffers badly here on earth but finds blessedness
and an end to his troubles after death. Matthew, by contrast, is similar to the
rich man in the same story, who has an easy time on earth but finds himself in
torment after death.
A successful or an
unsuccessful life
As far as success in life is concerned, then, it is no
exaggeration to say that Christian values and the values of society are poles
apart.
Those who are trusting Jesus for salvation and are in relationship
with God are living comparatively very successful lives, regardless of how much
they suffer. But the lives of those who are not trusting Christ and don’t know
God could hardly be less successful, regardless of what else they experience. Whether
people are on track for God’s eternal blessing in heaven or his eternal
judgment in hell is by far the most important factor in evaluating the success
of their lives.
If, therefore, you have not yet made a decision to accept Jesus as
Savior and follow him as Lord, make sure you do this without delay. Then and
only then will you have any real success in life.
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