How to be successful in life? Ah, what a question. I have seen quite a few different opinions on this matter. The corporate world is all a buzz with the latest self-improvement manifestos, and all their variant expressive styles of being a “success.” Not that all of this is bad; but it does raise some questions.

I have a dictionary on my computer that describes “success” in several different ways:

1) “An event that accomplishes it’s intended purpose”
2) “An attainment that is successful”
3) “A state of prosperity or fame”
4) “A person with a record of successes”

Synonyms such as

a) “Achiever”
b) “Succeeder”
c) “Winner”

are also used to describe “success.”

Please, allow me to describe the problems this definition could potentially create, by first asking a few questions:

Is a baby ever a success?

How about an old person who can’t do much anymore? Are they a success?

What about young adults who are prisoners of some disease, and cannot get out of bed?

Do you ever see “Woman Of The Year” or “Man Of The Year” in any of these above three, or similar categories? (except for babies...LOL).

I asked a few people how they would define success. Here is a sampling of what they have said:

1) “Having a bit of extra money can count sometimes”

2) “If they marry – getting through 40 years of married life”

3) “Doing something successful – like flying over those hills at the BMX Track”

4) “Doing something good for others”

This thread is being started to discuss what the Bible says success is. How is the Bible version of success the same as your's? How is it different? How should we change our current outlook on “success” in order to be more closely aligned with what the Bible tells us?

Lets see what we can dig up on this crucial topic...