How do you measure success?

Psalm 4

Psalms 4:2-3

2)  O ye sons of men, how long will ye turn my glory into shame? how long will ye love vanity, and seek after leasing?

3)  But know that the LORD hath set apart him that is godly for himself: the LORD will hear when I call unto him.

Looking around us we see many achieving great success. We actually see many failing and struggling, yet it it those achieving success that stick in our minds. How come I am not that successful we cry? They ignore God, ignore common sense, do the most stupid things, and still succeed, while we work our fingers to the bone just to make ends meet.

Sadly it is those who most enjoy success that suffer the deepest distress. I recently saw an article on “where are they now?” tracking the careers of Disney stars. Only one is not now mired in substance abuse, addiction, prison and so on, and she is trying hard to get mired. The rich, famous, successful people who everyone wanted to emulate are now suffering far beyond anything most of us will experience!

God has set us apart for a purpose. We are not part of that lifestyle because we have been called to a holy life. “Stand in awe, and sin not” the psalmist writes. We are to be in awe of God not man. If we stand in awe of men we are falling for a false picture that does not reveal the pain beneath, and are riding a road into sin. Being in awe of God changes our entire outlook on life. We ask no longer, “how come I?”, but “how come God?”. How come he cares about me? How come he loves me? The creator of the universe sent his own son to die that we might live. The only question we can then ask is, how can I arrange my life so I can maximize the time spent serving the Lord most high?