“What’s your major?, Where do you work?, Where did you go to school?” These are questions that are commonly asked among adults and peers in our day and age. Although these questions seem fitting in our success driven society, I often stop myself and ask..”Why?”. Why are these questions so often the first ones we ask after exchanging simply, “hello” and “nice to meet you.”? The reason why we ask these questions is because we often seek the answers that we believe define people - their income, education, intelligence, friendships, etc. the list goes on and on.
What we forget to ask are the questions that are of the heart. Again with intentionality, the culture of our success driven society makes us eager to ask the questions which give us a label as either a success or a failure. But what is your definition of success? This pivotal question is one I have asked myself often these past few weeks. In different cultures, the definition of success is often altered due to the demographics of one’s society. Here in Swaziland, you are considered above the poverty line if you make more than $3,280 (US dollars) in a given year. Money doesn’t rule the mind and hearts here in Swaziland, and I’ve learned to really love and appreciate this concept – coming from a money driven society. I’ve learned that people from all over the world define success in vastly different ways. Some define it by one’s family, others by their impact on the community, and there are very few who finally realize the true definition of success: living for the kingdom and nothing more. To be honest, I think I have known this true measure of success for a while now, but I guess it took coming all the way to Africa to truly realize that nothing else is worth living for. Success is something that people take so seriously all over the world, but how will you choose to define what success is in your life? Will it be the number of zeros in your bank account? How about showing the world the prestigious parts of your life? Whatever it is, we are all putting something in front of God and measuring it as a defining factor in our lives. It’s really just finding what that thing is in your life, and finally deciding if it’s worth laying down for the sake of the gospel. “If you trust God, renounce self-reliance, and bring him into every life situation, he is going to make your paths straight.” -John Piper (of course) That’s it for now, -gcg
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