Success...that word wears me out!

Well, here we are at the cusp of a new year. Every year at this time, I take a few days to reflect on what has transpired over the course of the previous 12 months. I evaluate where I started, where I was in the middle and where and how I finished out. There is one thing that drives me absolutely crazy about evaluations, especially self-evaluations. It is dealing with the wins and losses...notice I didn't used 'successes and failures'. I had a friend who knew that I was doing my yearly review and asked me if I had a "successful" year of ministry. Now, don't quit reading here...this can crossover to the world of occupations outside of ministry as well. I want to go on record now...I cannot stand the word "success" when it relates to ministry. Success to me is when you climb the corporate ladder, you get promotions, you get huge bonuses or raises that are extreme. Success to me implies building up yourself to a higher level so that others can recognize your accomplishments.

Success reeks of self, pride, and fear. These things isolate man from God, man from man, and man from himself. If we are not careful, we will build our own little private isolation booths. Another negative impact of addiction to self, pride, and fear is that they result in unhealthy horizontal comparisons. Instead of measuring success in terms of how well a person is following God's plan for their lives, people are constantly tempted to look to the right and to the left to see how you stack up with others around you. True success is simply obeying God's will for you life...its not having the most at your church, making the biggest amount of money, winning the most games, or even getting that promotion.

"We do not dare to classify or compare ourselves with some who commend themselves. When they measure themselves by themselves, they are not wise. We however, will not boast beyond proper limits, but will confine our boasting to the field God has assigned to us, a field that reaches even to you." - 2 Corinthians 10:12-13