What is success anyway?

 "Success. A word to be suspicious of. Especially in the church. Jesus never talked about success in the typically American way."- Brain Zahnd

       What is success? If we don't recognize our false ideas about success and reveal His accurate idea of success we risk living our lives frustrated. False ideas of success keep us striving for something other than what we have. It keeps us from truly embracing our life and living each moment to the fullest. 
        Often when someone says the American idea of success is twisted and not biblical people get upset. They automatically think we are saying God wants you poor, lacking influence and defeated which isn't the case.
       What does success look like to you? What does success look like in the Bible? If we don't ask ourselves this question we risk trying to use God as a "get rich quick scheme" and then getting mad when He doesn't respond. We also risk prostituting our gifts and talents for the kingdom of darkness, instead of light. I heard it once said, "When the gifted get frustrated and become impatient with God's promise, the devil presents his form of promise called com-promise."
        If you have a false idea of success in your heard, you will get frustrated and become impatient because nothing is lining up with your false imagination, which is the perfect time for the enemy to present what you want, on his terms.
        When our ideas of success line up with God's then we can dream and imagine because our heart is in line with His heart. So I challenge you to read the New Testament and think of how it applies to you. How can you incorporate God's word in your day to day life? And how does the Bible redesign your ideas of success?