Good Desire Gone Bad - Our desire for success has a nasty tendency to become a competition with brothers and sisters. Not in a healthy competition sort of way, more in a I will destroy our relationships to be better than you kind of way...
Feeding the Addiction - Chasing the high of achievement at the cost of our personal lives/inner life with God.
When I surveyed all that my hands had done and what I had toiled to achieve, everything was meaningless, a chasing after the wind. (Ecclesiastes 2:11, NIV) Dig Deeper: Ecclesiastes 2:4-11
Nobody Noticed - Balancing the gratification we receive from accomplishing work and being noticed by others. This one made me think a lot about one of my dear friend's favorite quotes.
Private victories lead to public victories" ~ Lon Waitman
"Watch out! Don't do your good deeds publicly, to be admired by others, for you will lose the reward from your Father in heaven." (Matthew 6:1) Dig Deeper: Matthew 6:1-6
Missing Identity - This one was my favorite. I believe our need for constant success is ultimately just insecurity in the identity department. We, especially men, draw so much of our identities from our performance. I loved the set of questions they asked at the end.
- Do you believe that if you make mistakes, you are a failure?
- When you're criticized for your job performance, do you tend to take it personally?
- If you lost your job tomorrow, would you lose your identity? [continued 7/12]
"As weeks passed, Jon started to realize just how dependent he had been on his career to bring him a sense of satisfaction. He had come to believe something like this: If I'm seen as successful in my work, then I won't feel inadequate. I won't have fear. I won't have self-doubt. I'll be somebody. "
The Root of Identity - The grand finale. It hit on identity again. If you read nothing else, please look at the last paragraph.
Key Bible Verse: But you are a chosen people, royal priests, a holy nation, a people for God's own possession. (1 Peter 2:9, NCV) Dig Deeper: 1 Peter 2:9-12
Yes, you are made to do great things, and it's wonderful
to work hard. It's a blessing to use your gifts and talents. But your
worth, your value, is not based on your achievements. Letting anything
other than Christ define you will grind you down. You will always be on a
treadmill of achievement, always be haunted by the thought that you're
not doing enough.
2 comments:
Thank you for posting this. I am notorious (in my own head) for confusing my source of "identity." It is very good to have a reminder.
dude, this is such a GREAT reminder! it is so good to rest in His love. i think i'll do it today! :o)
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