“It had long since come to my attention that people of accomplishment rarely sat back and let things happen to them. They went out and happened to things.”
― Leonardo da Vinci
Success is a bear to navigate. It’s safe to say our culture is consumed with the idea. There are a multitude of definitions for each of us. Could be a title, a neighborhood, and of course the number of zeros in the bank account. In the last decade, new measures have arisen in the form of followers, “Likes,” Klout scores and whether you’re an influencer. A friend sent a daily devotional to me this morning from Christine Caine. Had never heard of her. Turns out she’s an Aussie, who with her husband founded the A21 Campaign, which seeks to abolish human trafficking. Damn that’s cool. I love hearing about Jesus freaks on the other side of the planet, working under His umbrella to impact lives. Makes me get on my apologetics horse and wonder why they aren’t doing this under the mighty name of, wait for it… spiritualism or atheism. Yes, I know there are non-faith-based NGOs out there, but lots of ’em sure lead with that mighty cross. Things that make me ponder and such.
I digress, her devotional regarding success had this description from God’s Word:
- Success is not having money or power.
- Success is not avoiding criticism.
- Success is not having prestige, position, or prominence.
Success is discovering and doing the will of God for your life!
A loaded group of bullet points, and the concluding statement also a head scratcher. Not saying she needs to clarify, but it is the question of the ages, “What is God’s plan for my life!?” We often throw up our hands in exasperation as we navigate the minefields of life. My church has an excellent program called Repurposed that helps people discern their God-given gifts. Do the answers come overnight? Not necessarily. Only a small percentage know as precocious 18 yr-olds that athletics, or coding, or music naturally emanates from their pours. Most of us have to stab wildly with fits and starts, hoping we evolve into a passionate purpose for waking up each day. Often we do have clarity of our strengths and core competencies, but self-doubt and sabotage claw away at our confidence. This Harvard Business Review article, “Why Talented People Don’t Use Their Strengths,” was a good read over the weekend. Essentially says keep it simple, focus on what comes easy for you. Pay attention to things that your mind naturally drifts towards. Are you able to quickly develop marketing ideas? That’s a gift. Can you effortlessly crunch through a P&L and balance sheet, and see budget issues in the numbers? Follow that trail young man and go West. Do you find yourself inquisitive about social issues and government bureaucracy? A non-profit might be an avenue to explore.
Here’s the tension. The HBR article is solid, and applicable to Caine’s bullet points. But in the upside-down kingdom of heaven, the Lord may have different outcomes in mind. In other words, how often do you turn on the daily news in any medium, and are encouraged to forget about money, power, prestige and prominence? Sure, maybe on the Hallmark Channel, but I can’t recall too many performance reviews or investor updates where they led with this verse from James 2:5,
“Listen, my dear brothers and sisters: Has not God chosen those who are poor in the eyes of the world to be rich in faith and to inherit the kingdom he promised those who love him?”
There are key words in scripture worth noting. Words such as “therefore” when Paul is laying down some heavy theology, and when Christ speaks to crowds, or when God the Father says in Mark 9:7 and Luke 9:35, “This is my Son, whom I love. Listen to him!” Uh, yessir.
In this case, James, the brother of Jesus, is saying the poor among us have won the real lottery, because they have a deeper faith than those with wealth. As much as we may not like the theological fact, we’ve experienced it. It’s the rare bird who has genuine humility and a bright yellow Corvette. Yet how many folks do we know who’ve been pummeled from a sickness or massive failure, who carry a deep reservoir of sumpin-sumpin. A special patience and ability to answer the phone at 2am, never firing off a quick fix, but a masterful ability to listen and pray for your wounds.
The James passage is not an obscure cherry I picked. In some of the most challenging and inspired verses of all scripture, we find these anti-world nuggets in the Sermon on the Mount from Matthew 5:3-11,
“Blessed are the poor in spirit,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are those who mourn,
for they will be comforted.
Blessed are the meek,
for they will inherit the earth.
Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,
for they will be filled.
Blessed are the merciful,
for they will be shown mercy.
Blessed are the pure in heart,
for they will see God.
Blessed are the peacemakers,
for they will be called children of God.
Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.”
Again, the world does not amplify this message. Not at all, it says the opposite. Get yours because YOLO and FOMO, and the clock is ticking. Christ’s message in these verses is a life we’re incapable of manufacturing on our own. Only with His grace plus our wild abandonment of worldly goals to follow Him, do we have a chance of grasping these holy mysteries.
The journey to live out the Beatitudes maybe mirrors what Da Vinci said. Because he lived during the early Renaissance, I’ll assume his thoughts were of a deeper place about righteous purpose and mercy as spelled out by our Lord, and not a prophecy of my LinkedIn profile. I’m hopeful we can pursue a different definition of success that brings clap emojis from heaven.
See ya next time. ML