Success
- Michael Haldas
- Sep 19
- 6 min read
“The material success of modern technology creates an allusion of greatness. To a great extent it only bears witness to power and wealth. Much that is deemed “progress” is accomplished only through the forced measures of our various artificialities. Money and technology cannot create goodness. Only that which is good, in communion with the Good, has any abiding existence. All else is “hay, wood, and stubble” in the words of St. Paul (1Cor. 3:12). If, by some stroke of judgment, our world were suddenly stripped of its “hay, wood, and stubble,” leaving only the abiding presence of the good, we would see the truth of things. Many things (and people) who are presently despised would be revealed to be royalty and as brilliant as the noon-day sun. So much else, including people, would be seen in a diminished state bordering on nothingness.” (Father Stephen Freeman)
“It is so easy for us today to become so focused on our worries and fears that we start to sink into a deep sea of despair. We live in a time of almost constant distraction in which we are bombarded with images and messages that make us anxious, angry, and depressed. We have been formed to ground our sense of wellbeing in serving cultural standards of success, including what we possess, how we look, and whether national events are unfolding in ways that we like. Even in the richest and most powerful country in the world, people who bear the image and likeness of God will never find true satisfaction in the pursuit of such insubstantial goals. Even those who seem to have achieved them know that they can disappear in the blink of an eye. If the horizons of our hope extend no further than that, then we will never have any true peace in our souls.” (Fr. Philip LeMasters)
“God unoriginated and uncreated is not only the Creator of ‘both visible and intelligible’ creation, but also the Lord and Master ‘who alone holds authority’ over it. So when in Scripture, the devil is called ‘prince of this world‘ (John 14: 30) he is not understood as being the ruler and master of the world, since ‘he does not have authority even over swine‘ (Matthew 8: 30ff.). He is referred to as ruler of the world because he dominates and rules those who attach themselves to him by their desire for money and for all those other things that he makes use of to separate humans from God.” (Professor Anestis Keselopoulos)
“The drive for material success can subtly, at times even blatantly, reduce Christ to an inconvenience that needs reinterpretation. “The chief priests, the scribes, and the leaders of the people [who] sought to destroy [Jesus]” (Lk 19:47) clearly know that the God we meet through prayer can, and will, disrupt our worldly goals.” (Dynamis 12/1/2020)
“For many Americans, the ‘dream’ is prosperity, wealth and lots of possessions. Yet the Lord Jesus, and the New Testament authors saw that wealth itself represents a particular temptation and challenge to any who are seeking God’s kingdom. It is not the wealth, prosperity, riches or possessions in and of themselves are bad things, for they all are part of God’s creation and blessings given to us for our enjoyment. “For everything created by God is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving; for then it is consecrated by the word of God and prayer” (1 Timothy 4:4-5). Nonetheless, riches often are a distraction and a temptation, causing some to lose sight of God (and the Kingdom) and instead to pursue ever more wealth and life in this world (and sometimes at all costs, including one’s salvation!).” (Fr. Ted Bobosh)
"A “successful” parish can thus be judged by its well-managed conflicts and general tone of happiness. In its most crass examples, success is measured by income and attendance. None of this assumes that conflict may very well be a gift of God for our salvation, or that the day-to-day inner struggle of parishioners has anything to do with the Christian life. In my experience, salvation can often be quite messy and disruptive of certain aspects of parish life. Such “messiness,” like God Himself, can easily be unwelcome in a “successful” parish ...” (Fr Stephen Freeman)
“God has not called me to be successful. He has called me to be faithful.” (Mother Teresa)
“How do you measure success? Is it how many likes you get or followers you have? Is it measured by popularity, money, or size? As Christians, success probably really can’t be measured unless you can truly see into someone’s heart. This is because success is when you do your small part to help someone else turn to and open their heart to Christ. But you will not always know your part in this.” (Sacramental Living Ministries)
“The one who would have real success in bringing others to Christ must himself be a thoroughly converted person.” (R.A. Torrey)
“In all your works, either at home or at the place of your service, do not forget that all your strength, your light and your success are in Christ and His Cross; therefore, do not fail to call upon the Lord before beginning any work, saying: Jesus, help me! Jesus, enlighten me! Thus your heart will be supported and warmed by lively faith and hope in Christ, for His is the power and glory unto ages of ages.” (St. John of Kronstadt)
“Paul had been shipwrecked, whipped, beaten, stoned, and imprisoned. Throughout everything, his faith enabled him to maintain perspective. He realized that as long as he was doing what he was supposed to do, his being labeled success or failure by others really didn’t matter.” (John Maxwell)
“From an earthly perspective, Paul was not very successful…neither was Christ Himself. Success according to worldly standards and real success do not always look the same.” (Life Application Study Bible 2 Corinthians 4:8-12, Sacramental Living Ministries)
“Interestingly, the Bible says little about success, but a lot about the heart, the place where true success originates…Only with the acquisition of the Holy Spirit and the gaining of a humble and contrite heart will our lives on this earth have been successful.” (Charles Swindoll, Abbot Tryphon)
“We need to be careful how we judge success in our lives and not see it strictly through worldly lenses. If we are experiencing prosperity, we can slip into thinking ourselves successful but we need to take inventory of our hearts and make sure we are still living according to how Christ calls us to live. If we are experiencing failure, we need to remember that we don’t always see the whole picture, or the big picture, and continue to be prayerful to discern how God may be working within what we think is our failure.” (Sacramental Living Ministries)
“Success is more than just power or not violating the rights of others; it is the privilege of contributing to the betterment of others.” (John Maxwell)
“Our culture glorifies self-effort and personal achievement. It defines a successful person as one who obtains certain goals: financial security, health and fitness, and the respect of others…Real stability and success come only to those who do what it right.” (Life Application Study Bible, Hebrews 9:14, Proverbs 12:3)
“You were designed to know Him, not simply to have a comfortable life. You were not created just to get married, have children and a successful career, then grow old and enjoy retirement. These are some of life’s benefits, its side dishes, not its purpose. The tragedy today is that we have taken life’s benefits and tried to make them our purpose. We’re trying to make the side dishes the main course. The result is that we often find the benefits very unsatisfactory. No wonder. So if the purpose of life is not marriage, success, happiness, or any of that, what is it? What were we created for? Answer: We were created to know and worship God..." (NIV Men's Devotional Bible)
“Many people sail through their life thinking happiness is something they have created for themselves. They think good fortune and success in work and play are things they’ve brought about, either through struggle or by pure luck. And when they experience difficult times or the loss of things that brought them comfort, they despair. Sometimes it takes the loss of this established order to enlighten our darkened hearts to the reality that only happiness that is of an eternal nature will never be lost. For someone who has been so enlightened, nothing can take away from the comfort and security she experiences that are based in faith. God’s grace fills her very essence with such peace that nothing—even loss of worldly comforts—can bring about despair.” (Abbot Tryphon)
“But in the Gospel of Christ, we are reminded that God’s judgments are quite different, and that the success or failure of each of us, as we stand before the dreaded judgment seat, will not be determined by the size of our bank account or the extent of our fame. Rather we shall be judged by the standard of whether in life we reached"to the very height of Christ’s full stature.” (Eph. 4:13). This sobering revelation should inspire us to be concerned about the kind of people we are; after all, we shall not be judged by the standard of the worst among us, but rather of the best. And if we call ourselves followers of Jesus Christ, we have an added incentive to live as we should.” (Rev. Andrew Demotses)
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