We suffer harm when we define success according to possessions (money, house, car, clothes), jobs, achievements, appearance, popularity, or other symbols. We feel inadequate because someone else has more and better. We suffer from the ‘never enough’ syndrome. Tragically, many Christians succumb to worldly success when the Middle-class values of individualism, consumerism, and pleasure-seeking influence us more than the teachings of Jesus. Perhaps greed is a blind spot in our modern discipleship.
But we don’t have to live this way. When we connect with the real Jesus of the Bible and receive His help, we can refute worldly success and redefine success. We can experience the courage to overcome fears of rejection and failure, contentment as we place our identity and security in being God’s children, purpose in being Kingdom-focused more than self-absorbed, and joy in giving generously more than spending on ourselves.