Comments on: Success VS Blessing

By: joseph fontenelle

joseph fontenelle — Sat, 15 Oct 2011 00:34:40 +0000

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By: joseph fontenelle

joseph fontenelle — Sat, 15 Oct 2011 00:32:56 +0000

Success is relavent to human exsistence man and any living thing must have success,We thrive from knowing someone will be successful. Blessing is not on the same level as success Blessing is a gift Blessing is a result of love, kindness, charity, supernatural in nature, therefore blessing leads to all truth The way to know our creator, The language we call universal gifts is blessing.

By: random ruminations | Teapot Theology

random ruminations | Teapot Theology — Fri, 23 Jul 2010 21:53:16 +0000

[...] Success v Blessing, helpfully explored by Pete Wilson [...]

By: Kat @ Inspired To Action

Kat @ Inspired To Action — Sat, 17 Jul 2010 10:52:03 +0000

Hmmm…good question. It’s been a crazy wonderful week for me and I’ve been thinking about this a lot too…

Blessings are found in the current of God’s plans for my days.

Successes are found in the current of everyone else’s approval.

Successes are identifiable and consistent.

Blessings look different in every person’s life.

The benefits of success are glaringly obvious to all watching and immediately attainable.

The benefits of blessings may not be seen by others now, tomorrow or ever, but the peace and joy of being found in the River are incomparably greater than receiving glory from others.

By: Pete Ahlstrom

Pete Ahlstrom — Fri, 16 Jul 2010 23:22:48 +0000

Sounds like a great next book for you, Pete!
Lots of room to think and explore.

As I thought, I asked: How are we defining success or blessing? Spiritual success? Or material success? Spiritual blessing? Or financial blessing?

Then I saw that many of you had had the same idea. Many answers, all different, depending on how we define those two words.

To me, Jeremiah was successful. But he spent years of his life in prison.

And I certainly believe God blessed him. Yet in chap. 12, v. 1-3 he said “As for me – Lord, you know my heart – you know how much it longs for you. (And I am poor, O Lord!)”

Was Jeremiah successful? Was he blessed? Materially, neither. Spiritually, both. And has my own family experienced that? Very definitely yes.

By: N.A. Winter

N.A. Winter — Fri, 16 Jul 2010 20:34:33 +0000

I think one part of the definition for a blessing is that it comes from God. As many of your other comments have noted, there are opportunities that point towards success that didn’t come from God. Daniel could have been thought of as giving up the potential for a successful position when he refused to stop praying. Even though it resulted in being thrown in the lion’s den, God surely blessed him because he followed His commands. While God may use success to bless us, just because we are successful doesn’t mean its His reward to us.

That being said, since every good and perfect gift comes from God, the fact that God lets us experience success, is a blessing!

By: ttm

ttm — Fri, 16 Jul 2010 14:15:54 +0000

People who are a “success” might or might not be a blessing. But people who are a blessing will always be a success in the eyes of those they have come alongside. Love makes all the difference.

I have no idea how God defines the terms success, blessing, prosperity, vision… if definition is even necessary to the all in all. I think we are the ones who get hung up on the distinctions and make our lives all about parsing, defining and labeling.

It’s fun to play with words and put them together in new ways. It’s satisfying to link ideas into novel creations and to be the person or the institution who is viewed as forward thinking or cutting edge or brilliant or “successful”…but without love anything we do is just noise.

By: Jenny

Jenny — Fri, 16 Jul 2010 12:57:51 +0000

Pete – dang you always make my brain ponder w/your questions love it!

Ok, had to do a part 2 – was reading Joshua this week… apparently the ONLY time the hebrew word for success is used in the bible is Joshua 1:8: “This book of the law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it; for then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have success.”

Strongs #7919: שכל (sakal): to be prudent, be circumspect, wisely understand, prosper

So cool!!!

By: Joseph

Joseph — Fri, 16 Jul 2010 05:43:52 +0000

Pete,
As always a thoughtful question that all of us struggle with but should find an answer.

When David was running from Saul in the forests he was not successful but definitely blessed; when he was a king and looking at Bathsheba, he was successful but cursed. Even after that he still was a king (successful) and that was God’s grace.

Joseph

By: Mary

Mary — Fri, 16 Jul 2010 02:50:51 +0000

Success and blessing are two different things. Blessings are given from God to man. Success is taking the blessings God gave you and creating something either for His glory or for your own. That is where choice comes in. Honor God with the blessings He gave you and He will honor you with great success for His glory.