POST 12: You Are More Than Your Success
POST 12
You Are More Than Your Success
Pastor and author Tim Keller once said, “When work is your identity, if you are successful it goes to your head, if you are a failure it goes to your heart.”
I (Kristel) think about this a lot. The truth is, while failing is a difficult experience, sometimes it’s success that really trips us up. Failure is humbling, but the danger of success is that it can fill us with pride. It can trick us into thinking we are great.
At least that’s been my experience. Growing up, I was a good student. I often made the honor roll. I succeeded in music and writing. I went to college on a scholarship and went on to earn my master’s degree. I didn’t understand why other people couldn’t get it together. Surely, success wasn’t that hard. Look at me!
Then one day, I noticed anxiety creeping into my head and heart. With each new success, I would panic: I have to keep this up. If I mess up, I won’t be a success anymore and people will look down on me. I’ll be laughed at. I’ll be ridiculed. I won’t have that perfect streak anymore. Who even am I if I’m not successful in this?
Being a success had gone to my head and filled me with pride, but it had also made me terrified to fail. If I wasn’t successful, then I was nobody.
More Than What You Produce
Here’s the truth: You are more than what you succeed at or produce. You are a person, a beloved child of God. You don’t gain value through your success; you already have value because God created you in God’s own image.
The first time I had an epic fail, I was surprised at what happened next. Relief washed over me. I looked around and realized that the earth had not shattered. I was still me. Still loved. Still whole. Still valuable. The weight had been lifted from my shoulders as I realized I no longer had to keep up the façade of success.
Since I had made success my identity, I feared that failure would become my new identity. But all along, my true identity was in Jesus Christ. My identity isn’t in what I do but in who I am.
In Christ, you are forgiven, loved, redeemed, chosen, victorious, and so much more. Don’t settle for an identity built on what you do; you’re so much more than that.
READING GOD’S WORD
So then, if anyone is in Christ, that person is part of the new creation. The old things have gone away, and look, new things have arrived! (2 Corinthians 5:17)
The law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and death. (Romans 8:2)
REFLECT AND RESPOND
Journaling Questions
Do you struggle with remembering your identity is in Christ rather than in your success? If so, where do you think this struggle comes from?
What are some benefits of success? What are some dangers?
How can you remember who you are in the face of both success and failure?
Pray This Prayer
God, I don’t want success to go to my head. Keep me humble by remembering that my identity is not in anything I do—my identity is rooted in Christ and secure in your love. Thank you for your unconditional love. In Jesus’ name, amen.
SOMETHING TO TRY
Read the following verses and identify the words that call out who you are in Christ: John 1:12; Romans 8:37 (NIV); Galatians 3:26–29; Ephesians 2:10, 19; 1 Peter 2:9. Make a list of these words and keep it in your Bible for you to read through whenever you need a reminder.
THE TAKEAWAY
Your true identity is not in your success or in what you produce but has already been given to you by God.