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

Our days are filled with chasing the next big thing and proving to everyone else that we are leading our best lives. We want our lives to look like the social media profile we have created for ourselves (i.e., the best version of us). We want to leave a mark and a legacy behind. We want to be the next Usain Bolt, Eliud Kipchoge, Michael Jordan, Lionel Messi and the list goes on. This results in frantic recklessness and distress.

Seeking worldly treasures, we turn to the New York best-selling self-help books for guidance to quench our underlying anxiety and greed. During this chase, we have shifted our focus from changing ourselves to changing the world. This disrupts our single-minded focus on God, distracting us from our faith and hindering our personal growth in our relationship with Christ.

What does God say about success? How does He measure success? How does it look for a Christian to live successfully?

“But the fruit of the spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Against such things there is no law.” (Galatians 5:22-23 NIV).

Excellence Versus Perfectionism

We desire to excel in any field we are in. However, this desire can turn into a vice if we do not monitor our hearts closely. God wired us to live with passion and purpose. Excellence requires investing time, skill, and effort into something we care about. This is seen in all success stories. For example, Eliud Kipchoge, four-time Olympic medallist said in a recent interview that “Pain is everywhere, but we say we win marathons in preparations”.

It is easy to confuse excellence with perfectionism or drift towards perfectionism en route to excellence. Perfectionists are often held by the fear of rejection and the fear of failing. They often aim to please those around others. This leads to self-justification and self-acclaim “messiah complex” rather than relying on Christ.¹

“For all those who exalt themselves will be humbled and those who humble themselves will be exalted.” (Luke 14:11 NIV).

Biblical excellence has God’s glory and our neighbour’s good in view. ¹ All our provision is from God and our deepest desire should be to extend the grace God has given us to others by inviting them to the table like Jesus did it at the Passover.

“So, whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all to the glory of God.”
(1 Corinthians 10:31 NIV).

Ambition and passion for life are given to us by God. However, rather than being thankful to God for our ambition, it may turn towards self-sufficiency, envy, jealousy, and idolatry. ¹ This drive holds us hostage and may lead us to question our pursuit and the futility of it. Instead, our ambition should be focussed on the union of Christ and His body “Christ for us, and then, us for each other”. Self-ambition cannot be godly, it is the heart of sinful self that must die and be raised in a new identity. ¹

“Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each one of you not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others.” (Philippians 2:3-4 NIV).

Ordinary Versus Mediocrity

Being ordinary means we reject the idolatry of pursuing excellence for selfish reasons. It does not mean being mediocre or being passive. Mediocrity stems from not caring about that object. Being ordinary does not mean giving in to the idol of comfort. There is a difference between genuine Biblical contentment and the idol of comfort. Genuine biblical contentment is an ultimate place of rest where we find the strength to work for others. Contentment is the virtue that contrasts with restlessness, ambition, and avarice. It is realising that we are not our own but instead our Lord’s work. It is His work that He is doing through us in daily and mostly ordinary ways.¹ Rather than chasing the extraordinary in all aspects of life, be ordinary with everyday tasks. This would shift the focus back to God and your own.

How Do You Define Success And Failure?

For most people, the definition of success might be that of society. You may define success relating to wealth, achievements, image or even “Christian-ness”. Christian-ness is when you think you are a better Christian than those around you. We compare ourselves to those around us and when our timelines are behind others, we often think we are failing at life. This is not necessarily true. Being faithful does not translate to being successful. Think and reflect carefully about where your heart’s greatest desire lies and how you define success.

Failures, The Steppingstone Towards The Bigger Picture

Our lives are made of bigger and smaller moments. Not all failures break us, but there are some failures that could make us feel destroyed. This might be failing your exam, not getting the job you are chasing, relationships, marriage, pregnancies, or deaths. Most often in these moments, we tend to draw near to God, seeking his comfort. In other cases, you might feel let down by God, especially when it feels like you have been placed in an unfair position.

We cannot sustain the chase when it is not Him or His glory that takes priority. When you don’t place God first, it leads down the road of disappointments, frustration, and envy.

“For my people have done two evil things: They have abandoned me- the fountain of living water. And they have dug for themselves cracked cisterns that can hold no water at all!.” (Jeremiah 2:13 NIV).

It is easy to look at the lives of those around us and start to feel bitter towards God or about ourselves. Personally, I don’t think social media helps in these situations. We are tempted to show the world that we are successful, wanting to be our own heroes in our tales. It is hard to keep up with the pressure of society. It robs us of the contentment that is provided to us by God.

There is no room for grace in a perfectly fair world, for getting what we don’t deserve.² The perfect Son of God laid His life down for us sinners. God may not fulfill all your desires, but He sees the desires beneath the surface, and He is committed to meeting your true and deepest needs fully and forever.²

In Exodus, we repeatedly witness the Israelites’ lack of faith when God is rescuing them from Pharaoh. God takes them through the wilderness to teach and train them to trust Him. God is giving us the opportunity to discover what we really need, rather than being consumed by what we crave.²

The darkest and loneliest moments of your lives might be the time the Holy Spirit is working within you, giving you the nudge to turn towards God and pursuing the intimacy with Christ who knows you most.² God takes pleasure in each step of your life; begin to involve Him more.

“A person’s steps are established by the LORD, and he takes pleasure in his way.” (Psalm 37:23 NIV).

Dangers Of Success

When we continue to climb the ladder either at work or in wealth, it is easier to believe that all your achievements are because of your strength, leaving God out of your lives. We succumb to the worldview of materialistic success. We look outward at the world, wanting to keep the momentum and recognition because a single success is not as recognised as continuous success in our society.

“It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of needle than for a rich person to enter the Kingdom of God.” (Mark 10:25 NIV).

The Old Testament repeatedly shows us the fall of Israel when they stray away from God. Our ego grows, resulting in unwarranted confidence in our abilities rather than trusting in God’s grace and favour.

Secular Success Versus Biblical Success

Success looks different based on each individual’s values. There are several secular self-help books written to help people achieve their goals and become successful. Mel Robbins, in one of her recent successful books, Let Them Theory, talks about how to stop caring what people think and to take control of your life for you to succeed and gain freedom. It’s about YOU, your time and your energy are the precious resources you have. This is followed by Let Me Theory, which is about taking control of your next move “about self-awareness, compassion, empowerment, personal responsibility”.³ Furthermore, she shares her view on many types of chronic comparison. She advises embracing jealousy as it is an invitation to your future self and that YOU only can stop yourself from achieving success.

While I may agree with some of her points, I do not like the focus on “YOU” or embracing jealousy. This is totally unlike what the Bible says, which is to love your neighbour.

“Love your neighbour as yourself.” (Matthew 22:39 NIV).

“For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there will be disorder and every vile practice.” (James 3:16 NIV).

Our greatest strength is our gift of salvation. We are not building the kingdom for ourselves but instead receiving it. As passive receivers of the gift of salvation, we are rendered active worshipers in a life of thanksgiving that is exhibited chiefly in loving service to our neighbours.¹ We never offer our good works to God for salvation but extend them to our neighbours for their good. Gospel produces peace and empowers us to live by faith.

Biblical success is when our sanctification becomes complete in Christ through the help of the Holy Spirit. It is the Holy Spirit who tends our garden, bearing the fruit of the Spirit- patience, love, self-control, while we fight against the sins on this earth.¹ It is hard to be at the intersection of sin and the fruit of Christ’s victory. The good news is that the Holy Spirit continues to work in us, aiding our arrival towards Christ until the end. By saying yes to God’s will, you will have to say ‘No’ to others, actively choosing and turning away from sin.

“I brought glory to you here on earth by completing the work you gave me to do.” (John 17:4 NIV).

God has given us the security of the tree of life by placing us with Christ in heaven. The fruit of the Spirit is cultivated in the fertile soil of the Gospel. It will wither in the toxic atmosphere of restless innovation and sleepy traditionalism.¹ Being successful as a Christian may look like being content where God’s providence has placed us, where all our paths align to please God and embracing our pilgrimage with sustainable discipleship and disciple-making while we patiently wait for His return.

“But we have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us…. We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body….For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.” (2 Corinthians 4:7,10,17-18 NIV).

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