I didn’t say utter and complete failure. There is a simple reason for this. We don’t allow ourselves to fail. Failure isn’t popular. It is a declaration of our weakness and lack of ability to progress. Failure, simply put is saying I didn’t make the mark. I am not good enough. Usually, when we fail, we want to hide or at the least pretend it didn’t happen. If you don’t know I failed then I can wear my shame in secrecy.
Society paints a rosy picture of success stories. Idolization and affirmation await those who win. No one wants to see the dejected, grieving soul.
We aren’t smiling in commercials or taking wonderful vacations on the beach. Often we are sitting at home with the lights off and the curtains pulled wondering if it is even possible to get ahead. At least this is how I have spent many days trying to figure out what I did wrong. Of course, I’m here because I’m not intelligent and if I’m not a winner then I have to be a loser, right?
No!
I am created in the image of God.
My breath is a gift of God.
My mind has the ability to create, imagine and discover.
I am capable of good and evil.
My choices determine my destiny, not the impressions society imposes on me.
I’ve seen a paradigm shift in 60 plus years of life. Good was emulated. Values were desired. Absolutes were foundational.
I have to recognize what is happening in society. Those things which once were valuable have become tarnished with the decay of human decency. I’m not saying human decency has disappeared. It still dwells in the hearts of those who won’t let honesty, mercy, kindness, virtue, and brotherly love die.
Individuals who refuse to bend to a world where blood, gore, violence, immorality and villainy are seen as entertainment, are called bigots and haters.
This is why I refuse to let society label me and smother my dreams. I’m not going to use any means to justify the end or let the system of a world gone amok determine my value.
When I was young and foolish, I didn’t care about the person I stole from, lied to, or took advantage of. I didn’t feel their pain.
The blinders I wore prevented empathy. I only cared about one thing. Me. Me against them. Me against everyone else.
Yet, deep inside, I wanted goodness, love, joy, happiness, and God. I wanted God. It seems no one wants God, namely, Jesus Christ anymore. He cramps their style. Who needs rules?
I’ve been there and done that, but the very thing I fought against was my salvation. When my wrong choices chained me to the misery of failure and left me with nothing to hope in, I remembered Jesus.
I want his rules. I want absolutes. I need a solid foundation. I want the truth, not a self-willed existence that leaves me accountable to no one.
I am not a failure because I need Jesus. I crave him like an addiction. I cherish him and inhale his essence. I’ve based my life and actions on his principles and if success as this world describes it eludes me then it isn’t worth having.
Will I stop pursuing success? No, but I will strive for it lawfully. I don’t belong to a rat race or dog eat dog world. I will attain success with a different set of parameters.
“For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?” Mark 8:36.
“And if a man also strive for masteries, Yet is he not crowned, except he strives lawfully.”
2 Timothy 2:5
Parameters of Success
- I will be honest with myself and others.
- I will not defraud or lie to gain an advantage in life.
- I will accept my station so long as it has been attained without harm to others.
- I will not judge anyone according to race, religion, or personal choice. They don’t belong to me and are not accountable to me. There is only one judge and I am not him.
- I will live according to the Bible. Some will judge me or call me self-righteous. They may even despise the very God that sustains me but I will not condemn them for their views.
- God has given every man a free will. Each of us will answer for our own deeds. I will not seek to hide behind excuses but endeavor to learn from unfavorable events.
- I will not blame others for my mistakes and wrong choices.
- Each day I will forgive quickly and choose not to be offended by the actions of others.
- If the opportunity presents itself, I will help my fellow man.
- I will remember what it was like to be homeless, hungry, abused, depressed, afraid and without hope that I might have empathy for others who are in their struggle.
- I will choose my words carefully.
I have not failed if Christ is formed in me.
Thank you for reading to the end of this blog post. I hope it has been a thought-provoking blessing and you will take heart the next time you experience less than perfect success.
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