#143 – Success: Secular versus Christian

With Dr Pablo Martínez

We all dream about a successful life, but what are success and failure in God´s eyes? What is success for our society? The answer to these questions contains a very important key to living a life according to God´s heart, free from the tyranny of self-ambition.

The world measures success or failure using mainly three parameters: action, visible results, and image (outward appearance). For this reason its emphases are on activism, productivity (getting a lot done) and social status. The core of success lies in quantity and public image. Identity comes from activity.

The biblical view differs radically from the world´s. Its emphasis is not on doing a lot, but on being more holy; it is not on productivity, but on stewardship; it does not look on the outward appearance, but on the heart. Identity does not come from activity, but from belonging, being in Christ.

Dr Pablo Martínez Vila
Christian Thought | + posts

Dr Pablo Martínez is a psychiatrist and he currently works at a private practice in Barcelona. He develops a wide ministry as lecturer and teacher in many European countries on topics like “Mind and faith”, “The therapeutic value of the Gospel in emotional problems” or “Taking care of yourself”. His books dealing with such issues have been translated into 16 languages. He served the International Christian Medical and Dental Association (ICMDA) as one of its vice presidents.