Fruitful Lifeናሙና

Success, attractiveness, and good works… then what?

First read Psalm 139:14-15 and John 4:14-18.

Everyone wants to get attention and be important. Everyone has something by which they define themselves. Everyone, at least subconsciously, craves the feeling of being significant, for feeling as if their life counts. For some, it's their job; for others, fitness; for others, their appearance. Others go for likes on Instagram, and still for others, it’s about the car they drive. Or, some may feel like the woman at the well (John 4:14-18) who is desperately trying to find happiness through a partner.

The truth is there is nothing that will satisfy that longing in the long run. Often, we invest a lot of time in things that are important to us, that we often think of, and that we fear to lose. You see this in the most successful people of our time. Cristiano Ronaldo said this in an interview after being named the best football player in the world for the fourth time in a row: ''I would give everything to win more titles.'' Whatever you think will fulfil you completely will never be enough. Constantly trying to give meaning to our lives through success, achievement, or recognition is very exhausting because there will always be someone better, more beautiful, more successful, more talented, or more athletic than you. To be successful means to do your best but not to define yourself by your success.

The following sentence conveys the essence of it, if you accept it deep in your heart: you are incredibly important the way you are. Your life is meaningful and significant, even if you do not reach a single goal for the rest of your life.

Why?

We must first realize that God exists and created you and me. That means you are not here by chance. You are not an accident. God made you, just as an artist makes a masterpiece. You are unique. You are unique (Psalm 139:14)!

God gives us what we lack. HE fills the emptiness in us – the emptiness that we ourselves strive to fill with recognition, success, money eroticism etc. And he goes one step further: by going to the cross for us, Jesus proved how significant our lives must already be. If you and your life weren’t valuable, he would not have given his life for you. The more you understand this fact, the more your deep longing for recognition, meaning, love, and success will be satisfied.

Next step

Honestly: where do I really get recognition and a sense of being loved?

Let God speak to you through Psalm 139:14-15 and walk through your day with this verse.