When I started college I had no idea what I really wanted to do with my life. After a semester or two of taking core classes it came time to pick a major. Still clueless I looked to the obvious to determine what major to choose: which would make me the most successful and lead to me making lots of money? At this point I wasn’t thinking about serving others or what field I might truly enjoy, giving me gratification each and every day, instead I focused on the wrong things when making this decision. Coming full circle and having matured a bit mentally and spiritually, I now value different things: what career allows me to spend more time with my family, allows me to serve others, and gives me a platform to share my faith?

It is no fault of anyone to dream and neither is it wrong to be successful, however the world’s version of being successful quite often flies in opposition to what Jesus lays out for us in Mark chapter 9. I, like the disciples, got it completely wrong in the beginning. In Mark chapter 9, after the disciples have had a discussion about which of them was the greatest, Jesus pulls them aside and sets them straight. His response was simple, but powerful: verse 35 says, “And he sat down and called the twelve. And he said to them, “If anyone would be first, he must be last of all and servant of all.” This is where the world’s version of success and the Bible’s are opposing one another. The disciples must have been crushed, both because they got it wrong and because the road Jesus said to travel would cost more-much more!

If we truly want to be successful we shouldn’t be looking for money or fame. Instead let us approach each day as Jesus would with a desire to serve others. Let us look beyond this world’s version of success and instead follow in the footsteps of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.