For Christians success can never be measured by money. When people say to me, "That man's worth ten million dollars," that tells me he's wealthy, but it doesn't prove he's successful. In some cases, it could mean the opposite. For instance, if Mother Theresa, whom I consider a tremendous success, confessed she was hoarding a million dollars, I'd think she was a hypocrite.
Money would prove her a fraud, not a success.
Second, success can never be measured by numbers - regardless of what the numbers are. Some churches gauge success by the attendance or budget numbers. Some pastors measure their success by the number of "preacher boys" they have sent to seminary from their congregation. If the statistic I've heard is true ? that 40% of seminarians are there because they're trying to find the will of God ? I have to believe many of these students have been misdirected by people who were measuring success by a number.
The measurement of success is simply the ratio of talents used to talents received. What you are doing with what you've got, plus who you are becoming. Are you a growing, maturing Christian? Whether you work in business, or in Christian work, or as a day laborer, professional, or academic, if you are a maturing Christian and using a growing percent of your talents, you are successful. Be glad.
Some of us tend to think," I could have been a success, but I never had the opportunity. I wasn't born into the right family, or I didn't have the money to go to the best schools." But when we measure success by the extent we're using what we've received, it eliminates that frustration. I've known many Christians who had limited opportunities, but they made the most of what they had. They had a great sense of responsibility, a love for God and other people, and out of that flowed a tremendous use of talents.
When I worked for Genesco, I promoted a young man from operating a machine into a lower managerial role because we wanted to test his capability. Shortly afterward, he was killed in an automobile accident near Lewisburg, Tennessee. Maxey Jarman, Genesco's chairman, wanted to go to the funeral. We drove seventy-five miles to the funeral, and on the way back Maxey said, " I believe Bill was one of the most successful men we have had in the company." I said," He was an hourly employee and was just promoted to a small managerial job. Why would you say that?" "Because he used what he had."
The person who's doing the most with what he's got is truly successful. Not the one who becomes the richest or most famous, but the one who has the closest ratio of talents received to talents used.
An unsuccessful person, on the other hand, is one who didn't use the chances he or she had. He could have developed himself, he could have made a contribution to life, he could have become a mature Christian, but he didn't. My personal definition of hell is to be shown what I could have done with my gifts and eternally live with that knowledge. It is my challenge as a leader to keep others from squandering their talents and opportunities and giving permission to succeed. Encourage your people to measure success only by potential, not by what others are doing. One of the prominent Realtors in Dallas came to me a few years ago after the bottom fell out of the housing market. He was very concerned, almost depressed, because business was down 40 percent, and he didn't know how to get it up. We talked a little, and then I said to him, "Why don't you change your goals this year?" "What do you mean?" "Why not measure success by survival this year? With the current condition of the real estate market in Dallas, anyone who survives is a success." I saw him two or three months later, and he was smiling. "Fred," he said, "I'm going to survive, and for me right now, that's success. I can't beat last year, but I can beat failure."
Another thing we often forget: being a success doesn't mean everything in our lives has turned out well. We can be successful in coming back from a fall. I have a friend who got into an immoral situation. He genuinely repented and accepted God's forgiveness and moved forward. To me, that was success.
I know a woman who right now is fighting severe depression, and winning. That's true success. I've seen women lose their husbands to an affair, yet come through that great rejection and reestablish their lives. They have demonstrated the power of God in a human life. They've become successes. Our privilege as leaders is to commend their success.
1988 Fred Smith
