Is Success About Convenience or Obedience?

Everyone has a standard of success. But that makes me think: shouldn’t true success have just one definition?

But the reality today is that everyone has their own definition of success. And my theory is that this differs depending on who we hang around with.

Success is… subjective?

For example, if you were a young adult like myself, hanging out on YouTube a lot, seeing a bunch of productivity gurus on my feed, and people my age making vlogs about their road to living independently in a condo in the city, then that’s going to be your image of success.

Other similar goals could be: to gain financial security, to generate a 20% higher revenue this year, to retire at 45, or to gain 100k followers on Instagram.

And for others with a more modest livelihood, “success” for them could be different. It might be to put food on the table, or to afford paying for their child’s education, or to pay off their debts, or perhaps to advance to a higher career.

I’m not here to say that either is a better standard than the other. But I’m simply pointing out that everyone’s goals are vastly different, and our environment plays a huge role in them.

How We Should Work

But as a Christian, it unsettles me that the world is making a lot of noise about what it means to be successful.

On the one hand, I acknowledge that there is a deep need for me to live a meaningful life. But on the other, there’s no way to tell whether someone is just has his own agenda.

So this is why in times of doubt, I often find myself running to God’s word for clarity on the purpose of my efforts:

Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving. Anyone who does wrong will be repaid for their wrongs, and there is no favoritism. (Colossians 3:23-25)

God’s commands give me an idea of what is in His heart. And here we see that He commands us to work as for Him.

We should work not to please human masters, whether it’s other people watching us, our bosses, our parents, or even ourselves. But it is clear in Scripture that we are to work for the Lord, and bear in mind what pleases Him.

Obedience over Convenience

There is a quote from a Puritan from the 1600s named Jeremiah Burroughs that really captures the essence of what God looks for in His servants:

[T]here is more obedience in submitting to God in a low calling, than to submit to Him in a higher calling. For it is bare obedience, mere obedience, that makes you go on in a low calling; but there may be much self-love that makes men go on in a higher calling. For there are riches, credit, and account in the world, and rewards come in by that calling, which don’t in the other. To go on quietly in a low calling is more obedience to God.

-Jeremiah Burroughs, “The Rare Jewel of Contentment”

In other words, if you have to choose to between a “low” or a “high” calling, it is likely that the one who chooses the lower calling pleases the Lord. Why? Because there is barely any incentive for him to choose that path besides sheer obedience from a heart of faith in God’s promise to “make all grace abound” to him (2 Corinthians 9:8).

You see, I have been tremendously blessed by sisters in Christ in my life who have shared testimonies of how they chose obedience over convenience.

Most people will likely choose an occupation based on the benefits it offers them. But a child of God will choose differently. A child of God will ask, “Which path will cause me to focus more on loving and serving Jesus and His sheep?”

A child of God knows that the reward is not in the immediate benefits of a calling, but rather, a sure inheritance promised to him in heaven.

And because the benefits are promised already, and more than that, eternal, he doesn’t strive for these short-term pleasures. His heart is quiet, and he happily submits to God’s calling for him—humble as it may be.

Lay Aside the Weight of Comparison

I’ve often seen people strive to look for higher paying jobs, or jobs they deem more respectable. But I think what people often miss is asking what God desires in us: faithfulness.

If I’m honest, my current job now making music independently and creating content pays me very modestly, in comparison to my peers. And because I’m still building my foundation as of now, my costs and income usually just breakeven.

So it has been a struggle for me to keep my eyes fixed on Jesus, and stop comparing myself with other people.

But this has been a huge comfort for me: the fact that God applauds the good and faithful servant.

He did not say, “Well done, dear servant with the highest income in all of Southeast Asia!”

No, He said:

Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!’ (Matthew 25:23)

God seeks faithfulness. And isn’t that great news?

The One Thing That Matters

When God says that faithfulness is what He seeks, this is great news for everyone.

Do you see how this levels the ground for all earthly callings? This means that the farmer, the trash collector, the data analyst, the businesswoman, the social worker, and the King of England—though they differ in responsibilities—are tremendously valuable in God’s greater design.

Remember, God was the One who has chosen these callings for us.

And so our occupation does not make us better in His eyes, though people can spend their whole lives fooling themselves that they matter more because they were a doctor, a veteran soldier, a Grammy-winning artist, or a Nobel prize-winning neuroscientist.

But much like in the parable of talents, God does not look for quantity of output, but simply faithfulness in what He has sovereignly chosen for us to do to serve the Body.

So be faithful where He has called you, and use what He has given you. His applause will be so much sweeter than anything you could ever imagine.

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