Biblical Success vs Worldly Success
By Alycia Dantier
Biblical or godly success will result in eternal joy, peace, and a true friend to lean on; while worldly success will only bring momentary happiness, satisfaction, and will leave us utterly alone. However, how can we identify and separate godly from worldly success? Dear reader, you’re about to find out.
Identifying biblical vs worldly success
From a technical aspect, success means to prosper, which comes from the Hebrew word sakhal or to be wise. Wisdom or the Hebrew word chokmah means to have the ability to make the right choices; this comes from spiritual maturity and having the fear of the Lord (Proverbs 9:10). Walking with God is the only way to develop the fear of the Lord. The Hebrew word for walking is halak or to live righteously and obey. So, to attain success, you must live righteously and obey God. In Genesis 24:11, righteousness is translated as “to kneel” or barak. With further digging, we discover a righteous person is one who follows God’s ways. In short, to be successful in biblical standards means to live a life following God and walking on his path. That, my friends, is success in its most refined form. Anything made prosperous on the path of righteousness is godly success. Anything aside from that is worldly success.
Chasing worldly success
I have always loved the Chip-and-Joanna-Gaines-farmhouse-style décor, and over the summer, I finally decided to remodel my bedroom. I wanted my room to be a haven, a calm and productive environment where I could look around me and feel joy. While there is nothing wrong with the farmhouse look or even remodeling your bedroom, it was the results—the “why” I was doing it that was wrong. I wanted to achieve peace, success, and an aesthetic atmosphere where I could be happy. I defined success as a pretty room, and I thought when my place is perfect, I will be satisfied, I will be successful; however, I discovered after I spent dozens of hours and thousands of dollars that contentment, joy, and success is not found in the farmhouse look. It would never be enough. There was always something to improve in my room, and always will be. God has impressed on my heart the true definition of success, and it isn’t the worldly success I had been chasing.
So how do I attain biblical success? Proverbs 16:3 says “Commit thy works unto the Lord, and thy thoughts shall be established” (KJV). If you give your plans to God, he will make them successful. So, anyone who surrenders their desires to God will prosper. A beautiful example of God making prosperous a soul who surrenders to him is found in Ruth.
“Commit thy works unto the Lord, and thy thoughts shall be established”
Proverbs 16:3 (KJV)
Chasing godly success
Ruth, a widowed immigrant, living with her also widowed mother-in-law found success in giving her plans to the Lord and trusting him to guide her life prosperous. Ruth never once complained about her surroundings; she was content to trust God to guide her one step at a time. In return, God gives Ruth not only the biblical success of having the joy of service, but also a husband and the responsibility of sharing Boaz’s wealth and status. Because she followed God’s path and lived a righteous and obedient life, the Lord made her prosper.
I guarantee Ruth did not plan on being widowed, living alone in a strange country, or living with her bitter mother-in-law. If she was anything like me (and probably you, too), she dreamed of marrying once, never experiencing loss, and watching life turn out all sunshine and dollar signs; however, God had better plans for her. I think how Ruth adapted to each situation she was faced and how much faith that took is incredible. When Naomi tells her to go, she calmly but firmly stays (Ruth 1:16-18). When they had no food, Ruth did what had to be done to feed her family (Ruth 2:2). When Naomi tells her to risk her life and others’ respect for the chance at a better life, she humbly trusts and obeys (Ruth 3:5-9). With each step we take with God, we lay down little by little of our desires. Ruth’s willingness to take the next step with God led to him making her successful.
How to attain godly success
The best news is we don’t need to rely on ourselves to create the passing worldly success our eyes wander to, all we must do is submit our plans—our desires—to God, and he will guide us to everlasting success. Giving to the Lord our desires begins with a prayer and ends with God slowly relieving us from the stress and pressure we have put on ourselves from being in charge of chasing momentary worldly prosperity. You will have to remind yourself who has your best interest at heart and not to stress about the past, present, or future.
Conclusion
In conclusion, to attain true biblical success, you must choose daily to follow God’s will and in turn, lay down your own will. The righteous will be rewarded, but those who continue to choose their human ways will only attain the passing worldly pleasures this life has to offer. When we continually chase the things of this world, whether it be money, clothing, power, or even the applause of your peers, it sets our focus on what we don’t have instead of what God has given us. God has blessed us with the power of choice. We may choose to follow his word and trust his ways, or we may choose to keep saying “if I only had this, I would be successful, I would be happy.” God has more to offer than just a chance at success; he promises our thoughts will be established.
“commit thy way unto the Lord; trust also in him; and he shall bring it to pass”
Psalms 37:5 (KJV)
Psalms 37:5 says “commit thy way unto the Lord; trust also in him; and he shall bring it to pass” (KJV). When we commit our plans to God, God’s plans become our own. 1 Peter 4:2 says we should desire to follow the Lord’s desire for our lives, “That he no longer should live the rest of his time in the flesh to the lusts of men, but to the will of God” (KJV). If we focus on attaining godly success, his thoughts will become our thoughts; his ways will become our ways, his heart will become our heart. And they will be established.
2 thoughts on “Biblical Success vs Worldly Success”
It is such an honor and blessing to be your mother!
Bootiful job
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