My question as to what constitutes being successful and fulfilled is perhaps rhetorical, and perhaps it will never be answered.
The answer already resounds very clearly that we all want these things. The only problem is in the definition of success and fulfillment. Neither can be accurately defined, because they looks different in the eyes of every person who beholds them.
For me, when I think about the success and the fulfillment I want, the one thing uppermost in my mind is that I don't want to be successful just in my eyes, nor in the eyes of my peers or that of the world, but primarily, as a Christian man, in the sight of God. And something tells me that God sees it very differently to us, that His methods of weighing success are completely different to any scales we use and therefore whatever fulfillment we might express for ourselves.
This idea of success
The desire to be successful in the eyes of God stems largely from something my Grandad told me when I was going through a rough patch at college. I had always taken my faith seriously and that started to interfere with my social life.
I was always to goody-two shoes to be Mr. Popularity with the non-Christian crowd, but I found that as I hit my mid-teens even my church peers were being drawn into having a kind of 'fun' I wanted no part of.
I was feeling rather alone, and one time I spoke to my Grandad about it. What he said will never leave me: "Thomas, It doesn't matter what anyone else thinks of you, it only matters what God thinks of you."
It was really quite simple, but life-changing. Those words naturally lead to asking the question 'What does God think of me?' I long ago decided that the answer to this pertinent question will ultimately determine whether or not I have lived a successful life.
Fulfillment - a question
To make it clear, what I am saying is that if God thinks highly of me, then I have lived a fulfilled life. And the only way we can know if God thinks much of us, is to read his word, as it alone reveals His character and values. A little while ago I came across a passage that summed up my idea of being fulfilled and also gave a glimpse of what God sees as fulfillment (some might want to include success):
Psalm 128 verses 1-4 (NIV) - Blessed are all who fear the LORD, who walk in his ways. You will eat the fruit of your labour; blessings and prosperity will be yours. Your wife will be like a fruitful vine within your house your sons will be like olive shoots round your table. Thus is the man blessed who fears the LORD.
This psalm nails my personal depiction of fulfillment: enjoying the work of my hands with a strong family filled with intimate and fitting relationships. A blossoming household of faith. It is what I want, and this passage clearly says that the key to this is the blessing of God. From a worldly point of view one would think that prosperity comes from smart finance management, shrewd business decisions and plain hard work. But the Bible tells it differently:
Psalm 127 verse 1 (NIV) - Unless the LORD builds the house, its builders labour in vain. Unless the LORD watches over the city, the watchmen stand guard in vain.
It is only when the Lord is behind something, when He attaches His blessing to it, that it can be truly successful. It stands to reason that if God is blessing someone, He thinks highly of them. In the first passage we see God saying that He blesses those who fear him, and walk in His ways.
Central to it all
This, I believe, is the key to both success and fulfillment in the eyes of God. It isn't the number, or scale, of works we do on earth, nor the number of 'salvations' or size of our church. All good works, even in and for the church, have the potential of being merely a self-motivated grasping at fame, a fleshly undertaking that God will see no value in.
The Christian who follows God's word, living out his fear of God in the daily steps of his life, is the one God considers successful and fulfilled. Consider these weighty words of Jesus:
Matthew 7 verses 21-23 (NIV) - "Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and in your name perform many miracles?' Then I will tell them plainly, 'I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!'"
Isn't that challenging? The one who does the will of God will enter the kingdom of heaven. Not necessarily the one who does great things for God will be considered successful and fulfilled.
BUT I have to tread carefully here though because if God's calling for any one of us to do what we would consider 'great things' for him, then in doing so (you/me) would be entirely pleasing to him and therefore successful in his sight.
My question therefore is a valid one for myself - am I living to be successful and fulfilled in my own eyes or in the sight of God?
Thomas Devenish is married and lives in Hobart, Tasmania. One of nine children, He works as a motion graphics editor and enjoys photography and the creative arts.
Thomas Devenish's previous articles may be viewed at www.pressserviceinternational.org/thomas-devenish.html