Ah, the aroma of canning fresh salsa and relish and sauces, it smells like heaven to me.  I can remember we would visit a friend of my parents.  Walking into her home was like walking into a bakery, the aroma of bread, pies, cakes and whatever else she was making homemade filled the air and my memories with good smells.  Memories, they can be so good when triggered with smells created by the work of a good cook!

Teresa and Carla canned several pints and half pints (total over 50) of relish- some zucchini and some green tomatoes; and chutney and salsa – some green some red tomatoes.  It was like a cannery in the kitchen – and hhhmmmm, all those smells!  Vinegar, spices and vegetables blending together to bring back those wonderful memories! 

1 Peter 5:5 Likewise, ye younger, submit yourselves unto the elder. Yea, all of you be subject one to another, and be clothed with humility: for God resisteth the proud, and giveth grace to the humble.

Success, achievement, accomplishment, victory, triumph, attainment -  

According to Merriam-Webster:

Success is the fact of getting or achieving wealth, respect, or fame

: the correct or desired result of an attempt

: someone or something that is successful : a person or thing that succeeds

Is there anything really wrong with success?  If we don’t strive for success, how can we accomplish anything?

It is a dilemma for a Christian.  On the one hand God tells us to be humble, on the other the world and our own egos tell us to strive for greatness.  But does the one cancel out the other?

The answer lies in the heart of the person.  Why are we striving for ‘success?’  While God tells us to be humble, He also tells us to do our best:

Colossians 3:22-24  Servants, obey in all things your masters according to the flesh; not with eyeservice, as menpleasers; but in singleness of heart, fearing God;

²³ And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men;

²⁴ Knowing that of the Lord ye shall receive the reward of the inheritance: for ye serve the Lord Christ.

When we serve the Lord, we do not want to do a poor job.  We want to give Him our very best efforts.  We want the product – whatever that may be – of our efforts to demonstrate our dedication to serve Him.  If we are half-hearted in our service, then we are not doing it for Him, but for some other reason.

It really doesn’t matter what we do, it can be digging a ditch or running a multi-billion dollar industry.  If we concentrate on doing the work as if we were personally working for God, then not only do we do our best, but we are not overcome with our own ego.

The world points to success by counting money, prestige, value of possession, positions of power.  God doesn’t consider any of those things when it comes to our service for Him – in our secular jobs or our service directly related to Christ.  He expects us to do our best and whatever we are doing.

For a Christian our heart is the determining factor.  Success for a Christian is not personal gain, but service to God whether small or large.  It cannot even be defined by numbers or ‘successful’ campaigns we have done for God.  It is hard to define, but part of it is on how and why we served Him and not the results of the service itself.  God defines whether we are successful.

As an example some may point to a Pastor with a large congregation and multitudes of members and services as being successful, God might disagree.  God looks at the heart and He may say the Pastor who has been faithful in his service to a small congregation in a small community is the one who is successful.

I am not trying to put down the accomplishments of people who have accomplished the numbers, because most of them have a heart that is very much focused on God.  But even in the Christian community we all too often value numbers and overlook how they were accomplished.

There are many sayings that encourage us to take the world view of success among them “blow your own horn.”  This, of course, is diametrically opposite of what we are told to do as Christians.

And sometimes that can be discouraging.  We see those that are more vocal and more self-absorbed get the promotions that we ourselves are more qualified to have.  It can be hard to work within a framework where our best efforts are not appreciated by the bosses.  Still in all, we must remember that our service is to God, first, and to man second.  We can be successful without having the trappings of a position.

Leadership comes in two forms, those that have authority, and those that know what needs to be done and do it, even if they don’t have a ‘position.’  The respect for a leader is earned by the work of the leader – regardless of the position.  We have learned that while the position must always have respect, the person in it must earn that respect – and many don’t.  

We can achieve promotions and success in business and our profession and still be Christians.  I remember when I applied for a higher position within the Police Department.  Part of the selection process was an interview in front of an “Oral Board” (a selected group of individuals who asked questions and would rank the applicants.)  I made a comment that I had served as the Detective Sergeant for a period of time, because the person filling that position had become ill and couldn’t do it.

Afterwards the City Manager took me aside, (he had been sitting in the back of the room, observing.)  He counseled me not to make that kind of a comment in the future – the Detective Sergeant was also applying for the position and it could appear that I was degrading the other person.  I had just made the comment to show my background and why I had gone back to a patrol sergeant, I had not even considered demeaning the other person – I appreciated his insights and remembered them when I campaigned.

When I first ran for the office of Sheriff I was conflicted, on the one hand I wanted the office for my ego’s sake, I wanted to be ‘successful.’  I also knew that there had to be a change in the department, it was not being administered properly and the public was not being served – I felt I could do a much better job.  Even though I liked the man currently in the office, he was ill suited for the position.

But it bothered me that the position had a person already, that to obtain the office I had to defeat the person in the office.  If I succeeded in doing that he would no longer have a job, in effect I would have taken it from him.  I wrestled with and prayed about that quandary for several months before I decided to run.

While I was not always successful, I tried to keep a positive spin on my campaigns.  I tried to focus on my accomplishment and how I would either operate the office or continue to make the office better.  The one thing I realized early on was that I had to depend on others to make anything work.  I tried to never take credit for the accomplishments of those I worked with – other than being smart enough in letting them do their job.

I was fortunate, while, when I took Office, there were people in positions that they were not qualified to have – there were several in the department that shared my views of how a professional Sheriff’s Office should operate.  Together we accomplished a great deal and provided a much more professional and effective service to our citizens.

Still and yet, I had to wrestle with my occasional personal success and at times would forget that God, not me, was the reason.  Being the boss can be a ‘heady’ experience and I was not always successful at overcoming my ego.

However, if our heart is focused on God whatever personal success we attain is placed in perspective – it is just a byproduct of our service to Him. 

God gives us missions and He watches to see how we serve Him in those missions.  While the world looks at the numbers, He looks at the heart.  He knows whether or not we have been ‘successful’ in our service to Him.  One of the ways He looks at success is what we did with the tools and skills He has given us.

It can be discouraging when we aren’t given more credit for our abilities.  But when it comes to service to God – which is supposed to be everything we do – then we must put ego aside and accept the fact He knows what He is doing.  I am not saying it is easy, just the right thing to do.

Mathew 25:21  His lord said unto him, Well done, thou good and faithful servant: thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord.

Sometimes we may feel that we are given tasks that are beneath us, that our skills could be better used.  We must be very careful that we do not take a bitter attitude about those assignments, no matter who they come from. 

It is true that people in some positions are better served by letting others do the ‘menial’ tasks so they aren’t wasting their time on things that take away from their ability to accomplish their assigned tasks.

Still, if we are not willing to do some of those menial tasks because it is ‘beneath’ us, we may be taking our positions too seriously.  I ran across a quote from an unnamed young pastor:  "If you are too big for a little place, you are too little for a big place."  We should never feel any task in serving God is beneath us!

Jesus didn’t:  John 13:5 After that he poureth water into a bason, and began to wash the disciples' feet, and to wipe them with the towel wherewith he was girded.

Later, Art :-)

From the ColumbiaRiverGorgeous
May Our Good Lord Bless and Keep YOU....’til we meet again