God’s Success Metric – Two2Grow, May 10
God’s Success Metric – Two2Grow, May 10
"His master replied, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!’" – Matthew 25:21 (NIV)
I have never met anybody who wanted to be a failure. I think all of us want to be successful. God has placed in us a desire to set goals and achieve them. We want to feel that we are accomplishing something significant and worthwhile with our lives.
But this is where we need to be very careful because this fallen world celebrates success and has its own way of measuring whether someone is a winner or a loser: money, fame, sex appeal, IQ, connections, influence, relationships, number of followers on social media and so on.
But we belong to another kingdom, and God’s kingdom has its own success metric! And we will be measured by that. The Babylonian king Nebuchadnezzar scored high on measures of worldly success. But when measured by the metric of God’s kingdom, the message was: “You have been weighed on the scales and found wanting” (Daniel 5:27, NIV). Many will hear the same when Jesus returns!
Success in the kingdom of God is measured by only one thing: faithfulness. Are you faithful to Jesus? Does your life show covenantal faithfulness and are you submitted to God’s word? Do you obey the leading of the Holy Spirit? Are you faithfully pursuing God’s assignment for your life? The goal is to hear: “Well done, good and faithful servant!”
Resist the temptation to measure success by the standards of this world. Live faithfully for Jesus every day, and one day you will hear: “You have been weighed on the scales and found approved!”
Jesus, forgive me when I live according to the standards of success in this fallen age, and transform my desires, actions, and thoughts so that I may live faithfully to You.
Pastor Mikael Stenhammar, PhD
I have never met anybody who wanted to be a failure. I think all of us want to be successful. God has placed in us a desire to set goals and achieve them. We want to feel that we are accomplishing something significant and worthwhile with our lives.
But this is where we need to be very careful because this fallen world celebrates success and has its own way of measuring whether someone is a winner or a loser: money, fame, sex appeal, IQ, connections, influence, relationships, number of followers on social media and so on.
But we belong to another kingdom, and God’s kingdom has its own success metric! And we will be measured by that. The Babylonian king Nebuchadnezzar scored high on measures of worldly success. But when measured by the metric of God’s kingdom, the message was: “You have been weighed on the scales and found wanting” (Daniel 5:27, NIV). Many will hear the same when Jesus returns!
Success in the kingdom of God is measured by only one thing: faithfulness. Are you faithful to Jesus? Does your life show covenantal faithfulness and are you submitted to God’s word? Do you obey the leading of the Holy Spirit? Are you faithfully pursuing God’s assignment for your life? The goal is to hear: “Well done, good and faithful servant!”
Resist the temptation to measure success by the standards of this world. Live faithfully for Jesus every day, and one day you will hear: “You have been weighed on the scales and found approved!”
Jesus, forgive me when I live according to the standards of success in this fallen age, and transform my desires, actions, and thoughts so that I may live faithfully to You.
Pastor Mikael Stenhammar, PhD