Success and Happiness
1 Kings 2:3, Joshua 1:1-9
How do you define success? Different people define success in various ways. Success to some is the accumulation of goods. To another, success may be academic achievement and post graduate degrees. And yet to another, success may be financial security or a good job. Ron Jenson says the world usually defines success around the five p's: power, position, prestige, pleasure, and prosperity. Successful people are those who enjoy the good life of the five p’s. Advertisers tantalize us with the possibility of their attainment. The media glamorizes the results of having them. Such definitions have many fatal flaws when we consider the experience of the rich and famous. Listen to the comments of these famous millionaires:
John D. Rockefeller: "I have made many millions but they have brought me no happiness."
William Henry Vanderbilt: "The care of $200 million is enough to kill anyone. There's no pleasure in it."
John Jacob Astor: "I am the most miserable man on the earth."
Henry Ford: "I was happier when doing a mechanic's job."
Andrew Carnegie: "Millionaires seldom smile.
The vast majority of people who have won the lottery were actually less happy than before
Boston College has a Center on Wealth and Philanthropy. For the last couple of years, they have been surveying 165 households with an average net worth of 78 million. They asked questions like, “How would you describe the ultimate goal or deepest aspiration for your life?” Graeme Wood of the magazine “Atlantic Weekly” wrote a summary article of the study which stated, “If anything, the rich stare into the abyss a bit more starkly that the rest of us. The truly wealthy know the appetites for material indulgences are rarely satiated by such things. No yacht is so super, nor any wine so exquisite that it can soothe the soul…”
While one’s achievements along the five p’s may be celebrated in their lifetime, rarely do they lasts past them. What we need to become aware of and evaluate is true success that lasts. Consider this: Jesus said: “For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?” True success in this life requires a fundamental change in one’s thinking from the world’s perspective to God’s perspective. The fact is: What the world regards as success is not what God regards as success. Many people fawn over power, position, prestige, pleasure, and prosperity. God does not.
So instead of determining one’s success by the world’s standards, we should determine what success is by God's standards, for He is the one who has created us, He is the one who will judge us and He is the One who defines the standards for success. Success is much more than the five p’s. So how does God define success? Obedience and faithfulness to Him. God's measure of our success is whether or not we are loyal to Him and obey Him. With the death and resurrection of Jesus, obedience is rewarded with eternal life.
When King David was about to die, he gave his son Solomon the following advice: “Do what the Lord your God commands and follow his teachings. Obey everything written in the Law of Moses. Then you will be a success, no matter what you do or where you go” Notice that David didn’t tell his son to build up his kingdom with great armies, or to gather wealth from other lands, or to build Jerusalem into a great international city or to even build himself a large palace. Instead, his formula for success was to follow God and obey Him. Solomon took his father’s advice to heart, at least for most of his reign, and reflected on it in his writing in Proverbs: “My son, do not forget my teaching, but let your heart keep my commandments, for length of days and years of life and peace they will add to you. Let not steadfast love and faithfulness forsake you; bind them around your neck; write them on the tablet of your heart. So you will find favor and good success in the sight of God and man.” Proverbs 3:1-4 Hezekiah was an example of that. 1 Chronicles 31:20-21 says: “This is what Hezekiah did throughout Judah, doing what was good and right and faithful before the Lord his God. In everything that he undertook in the service of God’s temple and in obedience to the law and the commands, he sought his God and worked wholeheartedly. And so he a great success.”
Jesus further explained success when he said: “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength. The second is this: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' There is no commandment greater than these" Mark 12:30-31. Loving God means obeying God and being faithful to Him by keeping His commandments for He said, “If you love me, you will keep my commandments.” John 14:15 And there is a great benefit to choosing to be obedient and faithful to God. First, we gain freedom from the traps of this world—hate, jealousy, addictions, confusion, inferiority complexes, sadness without reason, anger, bitterness, unforgiveness, selfishness and more. Second, our lives begin to exhibit the fruit of the Spirit of God who resides in their hearts—love, joy, peace, patience, goodness, kindness, gentleness, faithfulness, and self-control Galatians 5:22-23 Third, we have at our disposal knowledge and wisdom to know what to do and where to turn. All you have to do is ask, “If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him.” James 1:5 Fourth, we no longer have to make tough decisions, between what the world says and wants us to do and what God wants us to do. Why? Because we already made the decision to be obedient and faithful to God. “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.” Proverbs 3:5-6 Fifth, when we are obedient to God, we receive the gift of peace, the peace that passes understanding. Phil. 4:7
As you grow in your obedience to God, you will grow in your faith and take on the mind of Christ. You will begin to think beyond yourself to consider others. Your greatest joy becomes what we can do for others and give to others, and how you can help them grow and prosper spiritually. Those who have risen to these heights of achievement understand true success, because a person can have all the power, money, popularity and prestige the world has to offer, but if his soul is empty and bitter, worldly success is really failure.
The Bible relates many examples of successful servants of God. One of those was Joshua, the son of Nun. He was both the assistant of and successor to Moses. The Scriptures tell us that he was a man of faith and trust. He had a great military mind and was the one who would lead the people into the Promised Land allotting to each tribe its territory. He was given a difficult task yet he did it with skill and grace. In the first chapter of Joshua, we learn the basics to ensure success in God’s eyes. First, have a good role model (Joshua 1:1-2). Moses had been a faithful servant of God and a great prophet. If Joshua were to be successful in the same role, he would need to follow in the example of Moses. This he did. At the end of the book that bears his name, he is referred to as “the servant of the Lord” (Joshua 24:29). The fact is, we all have heroes and role models whose lives we envy or that we want to emulate. The questions is are their lives marked by the 5 p’s of power, position, prestige, pleasure, and prosperity or are they like King David, a man after God’s own heart? If we will follow in the steps of our Lord (1 John 2:6), faithful men of the Bible (1 Corinthians 11:1) as well as godly elders, deacons, preacher, Bible class teachers and members who are obedient to God, we can have good success as well.
Second, know God’s will (Joshua 1:2,6). Joshua had a God-given goal to achieve, lead the Hebrews into the Promised Land. This was to be His focus and mission. Some of us will be given such clear goals of our lives, others will be given God’s plan for a particular situation or time and others we may not have a specific goal set for us. Regardless, our focus and mission should always be to glorify God in all we do. “So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.” 1 Corinthians 10:3 that we receive the gift of eternal life. This is made possible when we understand what our goal is and that it can only be accomplished through single-eyed devotion to God in everything we do and are and say. Paul put it this way: “Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 3:13-14
Third, know God’s Word and do it (Joshua 1:7-8). Joshua’s success would be dependent upon observing the Law of Moses, not turning to the right hand or to the left (Joshua 1:7). The Law of God was not to depart from his mouth but rather he was to meditate in it day and night for the purpose of carrying out all of it (Joshua 1:8). Today, we have the benefit of the God’s Word and Will written down for us. But we can’t fulfill it unless we daily open God’s Word and immerse ourselves in it. It’s not enough to open your Bible’s on Sunday morning or to read it occasionally. Spiritual success is dependent upon knowing God’s Word and doing it “Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like someone who looks at his face in a mirror.” James 1:21-23. If you want to know what God wants you to do, then read His Word. This is the only thing you will ever need to know God’s will.
Fourth, trust God no matter the situation (Joshua 1:3-5). Joshua had big shoes to fill by following in Moses’ footsteps who freed the Hebrews and led them for 40 years. Joseph was assigned to do what Moses didn’t, to lead the Hebrews across the Jordan River into the promised land and then systematically conquer the people who lives there, take the land and then set up the 12 tribes so they could begin living as God intended. How would he pull off such a feat? By trusting in the Lord to carry Him through. Being completely faithful and obedient to God starts first with implicitly trusting God. You can have the same confidence as Joshua that you can be pleasing to God in every situation if you will obediently trust in Him. “trust in the Lord with all your heart.” Proverbs 3:5. Whatever God would have us to do is possible because “with God all things are possible.” Matthew 19:26 For “I can do all this through him who gives me strength.” Philippians 4:13. Know this: He is for us (Romans 8:31). Therefore, trust in His grace and we can carry out our mission of faithful living (Rev. 2:10).
Fifth, live courageously (Joshua 1:6,7,9). Success in any endeavor begins with courage. It takes courage to try new ideas, to stretch one’s self, to leave the realm of the comfortable to the realm of the unknown and what you’ll find is that is the place of real growth. Joshua had a huge task in front of Him (Joshua 1:2,6). He would have to overcome the enemies of God and remain faithful to the Law of the Lord (Joshua 1:7,8). This would take courage. Courage is needed in standing up for Jesus. This courage is made possible by understanding, as Joshua did, that the Lord will not leave us nor forsake us (cf. Hebrews 13:5). He has not given us a spirit of fear “For the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love and self-discipline.” 2 Timothy 1:7. Therefore let us be willing to “wage the good warfare” (1 Timothy 1:18) and to “fight the good fight of faith” (1 Tim. 6:12).
Joe Harding tells the story of the bachelor who loved the color yellow. His apartment was completely furnished in yellow: rugs, carpets, walls, furniture, and appliances. He even had yellow sheets and slept in yellow pajamas. One day, he became extremely jaundiced and he called for the doctor to visit him in his home as he was too =sick to get out of bed. When the doctor arrived, he asked the apartment manager where the apartment was and he said, “Just go down the hallway until you find the yellow door. When the doctor was leaving the apartment manager asked, “Were you able to help him?” The doctor answered, “Help him, I couldn’t even find him!” That’s the way it is with alot of Christians. They’re so yellow and afraid to speak out, be known, do great things for God that the world can’t even see us or know that we’re here. It takes great courage to be a follower of Jesus because he’s going to call you to do great things and take great risks for His son and God’s plan of redemption for the world.
But know this: God is not in the failure business. God wants us to succeed. God's condition for success is simple - Obey and be faithful to Him and His Laws. God makes it clear that He wants you and me to focus on obedience and let God take care of the results. That way, you can focus on doing the right things, His will. This message is called Success and Happiness. Why? Because we base a lot of our happiness based on our success. The problem is that not only are the 5 p’s temporary, so is the happiness that it brings. But nothing brings great joy and happiness to person’s life than doing the will of God and pleasing Him. There was a great mantra of the early Methodist church which went like this: “Holiness is happiness!” Happiness is not in power, position, prestige, pleasure, and prosperity. Happiness is in obeying and being faithful to God and thus pleasing Him. May that be how it is in our lives! Amen.
