This afternoon, I sat through a video seminar where the leader invited each of us to develop a compelling story about ourselves as part of an approach to connect with our customers – healthcare professionals. I’m generally uncomfortable with contrived stories, but I can see the value in relating to others.

Consider the verses below as Paul described his life story –

 I was circumcised when I was eight days old. I am a pure-blooded citizen of Israel and a member of the tribe of Benjamin—a real Hebrew if there ever was one! I was a member of the Pharisees, who demand the strictest obedience to the Jewish law.  I was so zealous that I harshly persecuted the church. And as for righteousness, I obeyed the law without fault. I once thought these things were valuable, but now I consider them worthless because of what Christ has done.  Yes, everything else is worthless when compared with the infinite value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake, I have discarded everything else, counting it all as garbage, so that I could gain Christ

Philippians 3:5-8

He was born into the right family. His upbringing was to be envied. He attended the best school and studied under some of the great teachers of his day. He was a rising star in his profession. But he considered all of it useless. His family, education, and position in society were meaningless.

So was he a success or not?

From the perspective of those in his culture, he had it all. From birth, he had followed the path to success, but his encounter with Christ changed everything.

“For his sake, I have to suffer the loss of all things and count them as rubbish…”

How do you define success?

Career? Education? Family? Position or Power? Having enough money?

It’s easy for the American Dream to twist the truth as to what is really important, isn’t it? How easy is it to put our worth into some of the things listed above or maybe even something else?

Ask yourself a difficult question. Can you say in your heart that gaining Christ through faith is your ultimate success?