FOCUS, ON PURPOSE

How does one measure success in life? What does it look like? What are its trademarks? How much of our lives have been needlessly squandered in pursuit of a definition of it that is neither worthwhile nor accurate? There is seemingly no end to the ways in which a materialistic and self-absorbed culture would seek to impose its interpretation of success upon us. Suffocating notions of it are so pervasive in our everyday experience that few people actually stop for a moment to question the trajectory of their own life in practically mindless allegiance to them. We are all guilty of this to some degree or another. A sweeping statement perhaps, but one that is true nonetheless in light of human temperament that is self-centered and self-serving by nature outside of the redemptive influence of God.

How have we largely come to understand how success is measured? One such method in a word, is stuff. The size of the house we own. The value of the car we drive. The cutting edge nature of the gadgets we possess. The prestige attached to the type of vacation we're able to afford. The list goes on. Another way we find ourselves measuring success is through our social standing in relation to those around us. The pedigree of our education. The impressiveness of our job-title. The social network we choose to be associated with. The certificates and awards that adorn our walls and our shelves. This list goes on as well. Do we ever pause for a while to ponder what the forces are that drive our measurements of success? Without doubt, the motivations that fuel our achievement and acquisition are as complex as they are varied. That being said, one stands out above all others in my personal experience. It is a motivation which I suspect is shared by a great many of us, and one from which I believe all other destructive ones are derived. It is an undeniable fact that we inextricably draw our sense of self-worth and self-value from the approval, covetousness and/or admiration directed toward us by our family, friends and peers, or even total strangers for that matter. Actually, from anyone close enough to notice the trappings of "success" that we so desperately take pride in.

It is in my opinion a tragic symptom of the devastating habit of human hearts losing focus of their Creator, and consequently their inherent and immeasurable value derived simply as a result of being His children, fashioned in His image. This inherent value is a truth which, once grasped and embraced, liberates us from all striving after acceptance which we then understand is already ours...from the One whose opinion matters most. It is also a truth which, until grasped and embraced, finds us willingly forfeiting our precious heavenly birthright in favor of temporal and superficial trinkets and trophies...reputations and rewards. And yet, despite the severity of the griefs we pierce ourselves with in scrambling after these things, it is a vice which can be undone just as surely as it has taken root. In the end, it is a simple matter of focus, and of where we choose to direct it. Focus, like trust, is one of those things which is almost never absent. We may not choose to direct it in the healthiest or most productive ways, but make no mistake, we are directing it in some manner just the same.

The words of the old hymn ring true: "Turn your eyes upon Jesus, Look full in His wonderful face, And the things of earth will grow strangely dim, In the light of His glory and grace." Ultimately, in my humble view, there are two types of people in this world. There are those who comprehend with head and heart that they are completely loved and accepted by a God who delights in them, and then there are those who spend a lifetime attempting in vain to earn that acceptance from Him, or from any place else. There is indeed a success to be found. It is the success that flows out of human acts of love and service that are undertaken in response to a heavenly Father's lavish love for us, and our purposeful focus on Him. It comes from the rock solid assurance that nothing we can ever do or achieve in this world can alter the worth of who we are as children of God.

(This article was originally written for CrossRhythms.co.uk and is re-printed with permission.)