Editorial: Define “Success”
The topic of “success” has been on my mind lately. What exactly does success look like at 35 years old?
Does it look like the lives of family members from older generations with more “traditional” lifestyles? Does it look like influencers on Instagram gathering followers and making money? Maybe success is having found the right life partner, or getting a raise at work, or having a title that people can respect and look up to.
Questions about “the good life” have plagued humanity for a long time. Ecclesiastes is full of ponderings about what matters, what has meaning, and what doesn’t. It’s very human to wonder “How am I doing in life? Am I winning? Am I losing?”
I find it interesting that in the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus uses the term “makários” in Greek when he says “Blessed are…” for the folks he is describing: the poor, the meek, the peacemakers. That term basically means “happy, fortunate, blessed” and is a term usually reserved for “the good life.” In other words, Jesus is actually saying: “The good life belongs to those who… are poor, are meek, and are peacemakers.”
Which feels completely wrong. If you’ve ever been in any of those positions, I can guarantee that you didn’t feel in the moment like you were “living your best life.”
But maybe even the questions I’m asking about success are wrong, considering the counterintuitive kingdom that Jesus proposes. Maybe my questions should be more along the lines of:
“What am I doing in my life that has meaning?”
“Am I serving anyone else, or just myself?”
“Does my presence improve the lives of the people around me or make them worse?”
“Am I satisfied with my relationship with myself, God, and others in my circle?”
Of course everyone defines success differently, so the answer will vary. But these questions might help to define meaning in our lives in a way that can clarify things, at any age.
Despite the temptation to look at data, money, and numbers, we want to keep asking those types of questions at Adventist Today. “Are we making room for more people at the table of our church? Are we asking people to think critically? Are we trying to help construct a future Adventism that is true to the gospel?” These are questions that help define success for us.
How will success be defined for you?
Rebecca Barcelo
News Editor, Adventist Today
22 June 2024
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