It seems common for people to view temporal wealth as a mark of success, but is it?

Consider Jesus who was supported by charity from women.¹ If you believe that Jesus was a success, then surely temporal wealth is not the metric.

What then is the metric? Jesus provided a definition of success with these words, “I (Jesus) glorified you (the heavenly Father) on earth, having accomplished the work that you gave me to do.”²

Jesus’ success in life was measured by the completion of his divinely ordained work assignment on earth.

Applying this idea as a timeless universal principle intimates that personal success is obedience to God’s purpose for each person. Therefore, money is not the measure of success; rather, it is simply a tool to facilitate obedience to God.

But what about all the wicked people—those who do not seek to obey God—who are able to accumulate temporal wealth? Why do the wicked prosper?

Psalm 73 (see above) provides the answer. In this text the psalmist acknowledges that wicked people can experience a seemingly carefree life with abundant temporal wealth and few maladies. But this is merely a temporary illusion of success and deceives only those who do not properly define success. When wicked people temporarily prosper, it is actually a setup for judgment. Ultimately every person will be judged based on his or her obedience to God.³

Temporal material prosperity is not the measure of success or the sign of divine favor. To use football imagery, it is like a head-fake. A head-fake is when a runner deceives his opponent by acting as if he is going one way but then runs another way. When money is viewed as the metric for success, it is deception. And it is very easy for people to wrongly measure success using temporal metrics such as money and, therefore, to be deceived.

To gain an authentic perspective of success, one must look past the temporal to the eternal. The only true measure of success is eternal prosperity, which only comes through obedience to the will of God.⁴

Here is your business tip. Don’t be deceived by the head-fake of temporal wealth. It is not the definitive indicator of success or God’s favor but rather could be a sign of divine judgment. Management must be clear that biblically defined success is obedience to God’s will. Temporal wealth, without the character to steward the wealth properly, is a setup for judgment. On the other hand, temporal wealth is a sign of divine favor if those entrusted with it have the character to properly steward the wealth to facilitate God’s will. Never make temporal wealth the measure of success. The only true metric of success is obedience to God’s will. Temporal wealth belongs to God and is simply a tool to serve God’s purpose. Steward it accordingly.

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1. Luke 8:1–3.
2. John 17:4 ESV.
3. Romans 14:10-12.
4. Matthew 6:19-34.