photo tao_zhyn @ flickr

King Solomon’s success was unparalleled. King and Queens traveled the world and gave him gifts to hear his wisdom. Thinking about his success led me to wonder, “What’s so good about success?” I’m confident we cannot ignore success, because God didn’t wonderfully create us to sit on the sidelines.

I don’t think the good is in the pursuit of success, as this can consume us too much and lead to ignoring other priorities. The journey toward success is not good enough.

I don’t think the good is in the possession of success, as this can blind us with self sufficiency which leads to isolation from God and others. Success achievement in itself is not good enough.

The good of success cannot be how we define success. Any goal can become an idol and a false way to measure our worth. Good objectives can turn into false gods. The goal of success is not good enough.

The good in success is not from the pursuit or from the possession, nor even our goals. The good in success is when it’s an expression of our love for God and subordinated to glorifying him.

When this is true, losing success stings less. For even in loss, God can be loved and glorified.