In a conversation I had earlier this week, I found myself asking someone whether they could agree that the idea of success can sometimes be a myth of some sorts. To further explain, I shared this example: If people succeed at winning a race, by the time they get to the finish line, the audience is roaring with applause, but the winners are usually exhausted from their running. Whether the winners are excited or not, you sometimes see them even sprawling out on the ground from exhaustion. Not only did they lose energy from the race, but they also lost energy from the efforts that went into their months of preparation. So, I shared this personal perspective with the person I was speaking with on the topic of success: “It’s almost as if the benefits of success and the Perils of attaining it kind of seem to cancel each other out.” Surprisingly, the person agreed and all I could think after that was, So what do we do with this information?

Personally, I believe that we all should be striving for success in some way(s) because that’s usually how the world moves forward—through the dedication of the ambitious and often the resolved. However, considering the extreme sacrifices that are usually required to accomplish anything worthwhile, a very wise thing for us to do is to challenge ourselves to not rely on the idea of “success” as our ultimate source of contentment. Besides, what if there are failures along the way? Will our contentment fade with the failures? Then, when it comes to success, the scriptures above remind us of this sobering truth: “we brought nothing with us when we came into the world, and we can’t take anything with us when we leave it.” The conclusion is that we should all strive to be the best we can be while not forgetting to prioritize things that matter most: love, family, good food, good times, and all these other foundational things. It’s great when we remember to find contentment through looking inside of ourselves and by appreciating the daily blessings we are granted while we are here. In your life and in my life, godliness with contentment is itself great wealth.

Lots of Love, XO