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From Luke’s Journal Sept 2025 | Vol. 30 No. 2 | Success-Failure

I’ve been doing a lot of consulting with faith-based organisations on the development of an organisational theological statement. A document which undergirds the mission, vision and values of the organisation. One area I consistently struggle with is an organisation’s desire to encapsulate a drive for success or excellence in such a theological statement.

In some ways, we do want faith-based organisations to be successful, and we want them to aspire to excellence. We could argue that strenuously pursuing excellence is indeed a way of honouring God, of working for the Lord rather than human masters (Colossians 3:23); a way of loving God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength (Matthew 22:37).

Theologians in the past, including church father, Augustine of Hippo, and American philosopher-theologian, Jonathan Edwards, have linked beauty and excellence with virtue. God could have made things that were simply functional, but he made them beautiful (Genesis 2:9). There is, therefore, something in God’s nature that reaches beyond the ordinary for beautiful excellence. Also, the process of striving for excellence may develop character.¹

The dangerous idea of success

However, there is something dangerous about this idea of excellence and success; it smacks a little of the false prosperity gospel that has captivated many believers through the years.

The Lausanne Movement published a rebuttal of the Prosperity Gospel in 2010, which reveals some of the nuance. In the paper, renowned missiologist, Christopher Wright, marks the difference between a biblical vision of human flourishing and the belief that God will automatically deliver individual Christians into financial prosperity.

Yes, we believe in a generous God, but no, we cannot expect or claim that generosity for our own use.

There is also a slippery side to the teaching of Christianity that our success is a result either of our own striving or some magical thinking, such as ‘manifesting’ success for ourselves. These ideas fly in the face of God’s sovereignty, and the fact that a Christian’s treasure is different to what the world treasures (Matthew 6:19–20).

Biblical principles of wealth and success

Some years ago, I contributed to a Business as Mission (BAM) manifesto on wealth creation that sought to articulate the biblical principles of wealth and success.

It all begins with God, who has created the world and everything in it. He is sovereign over the whole earth, and all of its cultural, governmental and economic constructs (Colossians 1:15–20). In Genesis 2, minerals and ores are mentioned. Within the first 11 chapters of Genesis, the people move from an agrarian to an urbanised economy. God set out laws for the organisation of his people, including rules about buying and selling, caring for the land during production, and caring for the poor, as well as restoration of land rights.

“God created everything so that it would produce more than was needed. This is wealth in its simplest definition”.

God created everything so that it would produce more than was needed. This is wealth in its simplest definition. In Deuteronomy, there is a warning about such success; that it must be received as a gift, and the giver remembered:

“You may say to yourself, ‘My power and the strength of my hands have produced this wealth for me.’ But remember the Lord your God, for it is he who gives you the ability to produce wealth, and so confirms his covenant, which he swore to your ancestors, as it is today.” (Deuteronomy 8:17–18 NIV).

God gives us the power to create wealth. Wealth, here, is presented as a good thing, commended by God as a sign of his covenantal relationship with us humans.

Ironically, when pastors do not talk clearly about success, money and wealth—outlining a biblical framework—then, there is a temptation for working Christians to think that God is not interested in their work, their business or their wealth. Such a separation allows for the distortion of good things.

To have success and create wealth is a great gift, and it is to be used to honour God and bless others. Hoarding wealth is always condemned in the Bible, like the story Jesus told of the rich fool who stored his surplus grain in many barns but never had the chance to enjoy it because he failed to honour God or serve others (Luke 12:13–21).

“But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?’ This is how it will be with whoever stores up things for themselves but is not rich toward God.” (Luke 12:20-21 NIV).

Contrasting success and faithfulness

What is more important to God than the outcomes of our work is the input of faithfulness to our work. Perhaps one of the best-known teachings of Jesus on this is the parable of the talents.

While, in our reading of that familiar parable, we often focus on the outcomes (the return on investment for each servant), the focus of the Master is on the “faithfulness” of the servants.

“Well done, good and faithful servant!”  

“You have been faithful…”

(Matthew 25:21, 23)

And this is the same whether there was an extra five, or two bags of gold (Matthew 25:14–30). What matters to God is not our material success, but our faithfulness.

This is consistent with a concept of success or excellence that is tied to reflecting God’s image. As my friend, David Chan, says, “Just as nature echoes and reflects God’s beauty, so excellent works echo and reflect the moral dimension of God’s beauty.”

For organisations, this might look like tying success to faithfulness to their mission and values, and effectiveness in achieving their vision. However, Nicola Gibbs, consultant at Pluri warns of the false dichotomy between faithfulness and fruitfulness, warning that we should always be aware of the impact of our efforts, and of our responsibility in stewarding our resources.

To achieve this, requires:

a) a well-thought-out vision and mission,

b) a clear theory of change (or equivalent results chain), and

c) a way to measure—or at least proxy indicators/measures to know ‘enough’—that what is being done, is actually working effectively.

View from the pews

Furthermore, it is true that if we are fortunate to experience success either in terms of vocational prestige, or materially (or both), we need to beware the traps of pride and greed which so easily follow. Instead, we should be mindful of the blessings of success and wealth that enable us to create environments where others can flourish.

Unfortunately, we in the pews hear too much about wealth and success leading to greed, rather than success and excellence leading to the ability to bless others.

Biblical principles of failure

It is far easier to see a biblical model for failure rather than success in the Bible. It is clear from the Bible—and other ancient sources—that Jesus’ life and death seemed like a humiliating failure to those around him. He was mocked for being “just a carpenter” (Matthew 13:55), and for his death on a cross (Matthew 27:27–40).

As Paul explains, what seemed foolishness to those in the world is God’s wisdom (1 Corinthians 1:18–31); something CS Lewis called a “deeper magic” in The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. Jesus became “poor” in the eyes of the world, that we might become “rich” in relationship with God (2 Corinthians 8:9). Paul models what this looks like later in 2 Corinthians. When we are weakened, God’s power manifests through us:

“But [the Lord] said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.’ Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.” (2 Corinthians 12:9–10 NIV).

Summary

We are responsible for using our gifts and energy to honour God, and to create opportunities for flourishing. In that way, we can aspire for success and excellence. But in doing so, we must never forget that God is the giver of such gifts. And, if we experience failure (and most of us will), that too, can be used by God to shape us to become more like Jesus.

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