Success

One nice thing about getting older is that I don’t need to prove myself anymore, I don’t need success anymore. How tough it is when you’re in your twenties and thirties and have to compete in order to earn your livelihood! 

But wait a minute - is competing really compulsory? Why is there competition? Why the anxiety of having to over-excel? Why the strife within companies and schools? Is it not more often about wanting to bolster the ego? 

Success is held in high regard in our society. It means having a high-earning job, having power over others, winning competitions against others, having a fancy car, flying around the world, being admired by others - on TV if possible. Could it be that so many in western societies fall to depression, even suicide, because they have been intoxicated with the myth of competition?

As Christians we often have to remind ourselves that our worth is not in this kind of success, but in being a beloved child of God. Even Jesus, 2000 years ago, admonished the crowds of „lost sheep“ that they should not worry about these things but „first seek the kingdom of God“ - and He would provide for all their needs (Matt 6,33).

In his book Who is This Man?, John Ortberg shows how Jesus - among many other things - turned the notion of heroism upside down. While the emperor Augustus called himself divine and ruled with an iron fist, Jesus washed the feet of his followers. But which of the two kingdoms stands now after 2000 years?

God - instruct us to seek first your kingdom!