Success

We live in a culture that defines success in terms of materialism and prestige. Perhaps that's one of the reason that we live in a society desperate for meaning. Such temporary things as money, stuff, and the favorable opinions of others are fleeting and illusionary. None of those things provides the least assurance for the soul. God defines success in a completely opposite way. Success in His eyes--excellence might be a better term--is a life focused on spiritual riches and on serving others.
The stuff He gives us--after we meet the genuine needs of our family and our extended family--is to be used to meet the needs of others. Such investments in the eternal are more secure than any currency or material thing that I can clasp with my hands. They are the "gold and precious stones" reserved in the vaults of Heaven--crash proof, thief proof, and fire proof. They are investments in the "well-done." They are the "seeking first the kingdom of God" that casts aside anxiety and that frees me to live this day--the only day I have--to His glory.
The heart of a servant is a heart like His. When I "esteem others better than myself" as He did incomprehensibly when He walked among men, He uses the strength He has given me to be the submissive pillar of encouragement, consolation, tenderheartedness, and loyal love that those He has placed in my life need to become all that He has called them to be. In a miraculous way--yes, the Christian walk is a daily miracle--He allows me to be Christ-in-the-room in the glorious mundane of daily life.
Such a life--a life where my stuff and my strength are surrendered to Him to do good for others--is a life enriched with meaning and purpose and joy. It is the only life that is genuinely--spontaneously--successful. Excellent.