Have I done enough? Can I do more? Should I do more? What if it is not enough? These are the questions I ask myself probably more often than I should. It is almost like the feeling of “I have done whatever I could” escapes me whenever I need it most. In search for an answer to these questions, the danger of losing track of reality and chasing a non-existent end post may be staring me in the face.
I believe we all have the desire to be accepted, to be good enough and to be successful in whatever we take on.
Success is something we all desire to achieve, but at what cost? The problem does not lie in the desire to be successful. God made us that way to be the best of who he made us to be. In fact, in His eyes we start of being successful due to His presence in our lives. We read about this in Genesis 39:2 where Joseph was successful because God was with him as well as in 1 Samuel 18:14 where Saul saw that David was always successful because God was with Him. The same applies to us, because we have God with us, we start off being successful. He has not created us to be mediocre but to be good, to be overcomers, to be creative, to be conquerors, but most of all to be at peace.
But the world and its influences on our lives changes the dynamics and we chase success and other people’s approval more than God’s will for our lives. An in the process, we miss what is right in front of us – our loved ones, a husband or a wife, your children, time with your family, time with God. Instead of finding reasons to value what is right in front of us, we find ourselves in a trap where we continue to seek excuses why we should spend our time on chasing things instead of value our people right before our eyes.
Your wife will be like a fruitful vine within your house; your children will be like olive shoots around your table. Yes, this will be the blessing for the man who fears the Lord. (Psalm 128:3-4, NLT)Children are a gift from the Lord; they are a reward from him. Children born to a young man are like arrows in a warrior’s hands. How joyful is the man whose quiver is full of them! He will not be put to shame when he confronts his accusers at the city gates. (Psalm 127:3-5, NLT)Whoever brings ruin on their family will inherit only wind, and the fool will be servant to the wise. (Proverbs 11:29, NIV)A greedy man brings trouble to his family, but he who hates bribes will live. (Proverbs 15:27, NIV)But if anyone does not provide for his own, and especially for those of his household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever. (1 Timothy 5:8, NASB)For this reason, I bow my knees before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named … (Ephesians 3:14-15, ESV)God gives us families as a gift to treasure and not a commodity to give up for nothing or to go to waste. Why do we, as human beings, struggle to hold on and appreciate what we have and instead go on a wild goose hunt for more at the cost of those that have been entrusted to us?
Projects, wealth, your boss’s approval or that next goal you are chasing will come and go and new standards, new goals and new deadlines will be set. These are endless pits that never get satisfied. But that loved one that you have promised your love to, those little hands and feet that follows you around everywhere and just want one more hug before they go to sleep or your teenager that just want one day of no work and just time together, they are there now. Do not miss them. They are what God has given you now to love and to hold. Treasure them.
When that next choice comes between success and time with your loved ones, choose well, because the world may tell you, you need that promotion or increase, but if you become quiet, you may just hear God’s whisper that says, “You already have everything you need and it is enough.”Maretha Retief