SUCCESS – IN GOD’S EYES:
Scripture: “Observe the ordinances of the Lord, your God, walking in His ways and keeping His statutes, His commandments, His ordinances, and what He witnessed in writing in the law of Moses. In this way you will prosper in whatever you do and wherever you go.” – 1 Kings 2:3
Catechism of the Catholic Church: “Human beings make their own contribution to their interior growth; they make their whole sentient (emotional/intellectual) and spiritual lives into means of this growth. With the help of grace they grow in virtue, avoid sin, and if they sin they entrust themselves as did the prodigal son to the mercy of our Father in heaven. In this way they attain to the perfection of charity.” – CCC #1700
Brothers and sisters, during one of my many drives to and from Baltimore, I passed a number of school busses along the way and thought of the school children and what their plans for the future were: college, the service, a lucrative trade, marriage, etc. How would they define success for their lives?
I, myself, had planned to move away from home and get a good paying job so that I could travel the world. But, as we adults have learned through life experiences, plans change; either of our own accord, or the changes are forced on us for one reason or another. And, my plans changed drastically.
But how would God define success? We know the greatest commandment – as defined by Jesus, “To love God with our entire being, and our neighbor as ourself.” We also know that by cheerful obedience and giving glory to God in all that we do contributes to righteousness.
I came across a poem by Ralph Waldo Emerson many years ago, to the question of ‘What Is Success?’
To laugh often and much;
To win the respect of intelligent people and the affection of children;
To earn the appreciation of honest critics and endure the betrayal of false friends; To appreciate beauty; to find the best in others;
To leave the world a bit better.
Whether by a healthy child, a garden patch,
or a redeemed social condition;
To know even one life
Has breathed easier because you have lived.
This is to have succeeded.
Brothers and sisters, “To know even one life has breathed easier because we have lived,” defines what true success in this life looks like. It can be encapsulated by what Jesus describes as the greatest commandment: to love God with our entire being, and our neighbor as ourselves. As such, we have been given the means to achieve such great success: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.
“You are not far from the Kingdom of God.”
(Jesus to the scribe who answered wisely concerning the greatest commandment)