This week our children have been studying "The Secret of My Success." This is a timely and much needed study. It is something of which all of us have an interest. Every man, woman, boy, and girl wants to be successful in life. The question that needs to be asked is “How Do You Measure Success?” We struggle to find the answer.
Joke: I heard about a Texas oil man who had millions of dollars. As he grew older he began to think about death. He requested that they bury him in his white Cadillac, dressed in a cowboy suit, with his cowboy hat on his head, and a cigar in his mouth. Sure enough, his family honored his request. When he died they dug a huge hole and buried man, car, cowboy hat, and cigar--- just as the man requested. On the day of his funeral his friends and family passed by as the grave side service concluded. One of the man’s friends made the comment, in passing by the scene, “Man that’s living.”
I think the friend missed something. Many people make the same mistake. Jesus had something to say about success. “Life is not measured by how much you own.” (Luke 12:15 NLT) Let me take a few minutes to consider two questions. One, how do we measure success? Two, how does Jesus measure success?
First, how do we measure success? Men tend to measure success by one of three standards.
1. We measure success by power.
Erma Bombeck – wrote something called rules… 1) Never have more children than you have car windows. 2) Never loan your car to someone to whom you have given birth. 3) Pick your friends carefully. A "friend" never goes on a diet when you are fat or tells you how lucky you are to have a husband who remembers Mother’s Day--when his gift is a smoke alarm. 4) Seize the moment. Remember all those women on the Titanic who waved off the dessert cart. 5) Know the difference between success and fame. Success is Mother Teresa. Fame is Madonna.
(Contributed to Sermon Central by Steve Malone)
Rules 5 puts power into perspective.
2. We measure success by pleasure. We are living in a society obsessed with pleasure.
Dr. Gary Smalley once said he was a recovering Hedon. He defined hedonism as the old playboy philosophy of life. The free dictionary online (www.thefreedictionary) defines hedonism as: 1. Pursuit of or devotion to pleasure, especially to the pleasures of the senses. 2. Philosophy The ethical doctrine holding that only what is pleasant or has pleasant consequences is intrinsically good. 3. Psychology The doctrine holding that behavior is motivated by the desire for pleasure and the avoidance of pain….
3. We measure success by possessions. That is the truth behind Jesus statement.
There is a story about a wealthy Christian who was obsessed with the idea of taking some of his wealth to heaven. He knew the Bible clearly teaches that you cannot take it with you. He could not settle this issue so he prayed that God would give him permission to take some of his wealth to heaven with him. Finally, his persistence paid off. God spoke to him and said, "Okay, you can take one suitcase with you into heaven." The story continues with the man deep in thought, "What do I take? What are the most valuable things that I can put into my suitcase?" He finally decided and filled his suitcase full of gold. When he died, he slowly approached the pearly gates dragging his suitcase behind him. St. Peter met him at the gate and said, "Wait a minute. What do you think you’re doing? You’re not allowed to take anything into heaven." The man answered, "You don’t understand. I have special permission from God to take this suitcase into heaven." Peter rubbed his beard and said, "Well, that’s very unusual. I cannot imagine God letting you do that. Let me look inside your suitcase and see what’s there." So the man dragged the suitcase over, and Peter opened it to see that it was filled with gold bars and gold bricks. Peter said, "Well, all right. If God said so, I suppose you can take that in if you want. But why in the world did you go to all this trouble just to bring more pavement into heaven?"
(Contributed to Sermon Central by Don Hawks) We might chuckle at that story. However, there is more truth than fiction in the story. We tend to lose perspective about possessions. Jesus said “For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? Mt. 16:26
Second, look at Jesus’ measure of success.
1. Jesus measures success by your life purpose.
The best-selling book “The Purpose Driven Life” ,by Rick Warren, puts this into perspective. Warren begins his book with these words… “It’s not about you. The purpose of your life is far greater than your own personal fulfillment, your peace of mind, or even your happiness. It’s far greater than your family, your career, or even your wildest dreams and ambitions. If you want to know why you were placed on this planet, you must begin with God.” (Contributed to Sermon Central by Jim Luthy)
I want to show you a verse that describes a successful life. “David, after he had served his own generation by the will of God, fell asleep.” (Acts 13:36 NKJV) The key part of that verse is “by the will of God.” David understood that his life purpose was to serve God. Your vocation is what you do for a living. Your life purpose is what you do for God. This is what Jesus meant in the Lord ’s Prayer when he said “your kingdom come, your will be done.” Success in life involves doing God’s will and fulfilling God’s purpose.
2. Jesus measures success by your life purpose but also by your preparation for eternity. Those two go hand in hand. Jesus made the statement “Life is not measured by how much you own.” He was trying to focus us beyond this life. Immediately after making that statement Jesus told a story. “A rich man had a fertile farm that produced fine crops. He said to himself, ‘What should I do? I don’t have room for all my crops.’ Then he said, ‘I know! I’ll tear down my barns and build bigger ones. Then I’ll have room enough to store all my wheat and other goods. And I’ll sit back and say to myself, “My friend, you have enough stored away for years to come. Now take it easy! Eat, drink, and be merry!”’ “But God said to him, ‘You fool! You will die this very night. Then who will get everything you worked for?’ “Yes, a person is a fool to store up earthly wealth but not have a rich relationship with God.” (Luke 12:16-21 NLT) In this story, Jesus illustrated some people’s approach to life. Their philosophy is to eat, drink, and be merry. Jesus taught that there is more to life. Life is a preparation for eternity.
“God hath given to man a short time here upon earth, and yet upon this short time eternity depends.” — Jeremy Taylor
John Tillotson said, "He who provides for this life, but does not take care for eternity, is wise for a moment, but a fool forever."
(Contributed to Sermon Central by MELVIN NEWLAND)
You may be thinking, these definitions of success are unrealistic. They go against the grain of human nature. If so, you are right! As humans, we do not naturally seek God’s will. As humans, we do not naturally think about preparing for eternity. That is because we are self focused. We are consumed with this life. When we do this we are building our house on a shaky foundation. When we do this we are making a poor investment. Jesus sought to help us with our thinking. Jesus sought to help us with our perspective. He wants to give us a new perspective of life. He wants to give us a new measure of success. He wants to give us a new level of happiness.
