My Christianity مسيحيتي
What about... Success? topics examined from a Christian point of view...
I have always struggled with some verses of the Bible: the ones that talked about denying yourself or not wanting anything in life besides God (Psalm.73). No matter how much I appreciated the presence of God in my life and His work in me, I couldn’t say any of these verses with a full heart. I told God: “I love you and I want you with all my heart but I also want other things; I want SUCCESS, I want friends, I want love from others. I don’t see how someone can say that they do not want anything or anyone but you.“ by Farah Hany Years later, I came across a psalm that set things straight for me. I am still not living it to the fullest, but at least I made my peace with the concept. It is psalm 16. David talks about choosing God as a Master and that he has no good besides Him. He calls God “my portion, my cup” and then He introduces a very interesting metaphor: “the lines have fallen for me in pleasant places”. One explanation for this verse is that in old Jewish customs, when they divided land, they used some sort of ropes, throwing them on the land as landmarks to define portions. David used this example to show that God is his portion. He then adds that it is a pleasant portion. Imagine David saying this: If they are dividing everything good and valuable in this world: one gets money, one gets power, one gets love and I get God. Then. I definitely have the better end of the deal. I am the winner. God is my winning ticket! Blessed is He who has Jesus as his portion, blessed is he who chooses God. For not only will he enjoy God’s presence in His life - which is the ultimate prize- he will also have a winning ticket in every situation. He will have God as a partner in every decision, as a helper in every test. He will have grace in the eyes of the people that meet him. He will be blessed and multiplied in everything he does. In other words, Jesus will be his “atout” in life, his upper hand, his winning ticket. So yes, if I do choose Jesus, I may not be successful in the world’s terms. I may not live for success in various areas of life, but by choosing Him, I am definitely a winner.
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