Oh Really? They Die More people die on the path to success than on the road to work.

When you travel around a bit, as I currently do, you come across some interesting statements, like the one I picked up in a canteen at a local garage. It is one of those statements that tickles my imagination and makes me think regarding the ethical consequences of what drives people, what propels in the search for fulfilment. What is it that defines success in life? The word comes from the Latin succedere, come after. It is the desired outcome of an action or a series of actions. To be successful tends to mean wealthy unless otherwise specified. Well now, if success equals the desired outcome of action, then it follows that it is crucial to define what is desirable. It is a truism that peoples desires vary widely, but the fundamental goal of all expressions of desire is fulfilment. Fulfilment is the quest for the golden grail. Books, sitcoms, legends, they all revolve around this search by humanity. When Adam and Eve were seduced by the devil, they sought a fulfilment other than what God had already given them. In reaching for the forbidden fruit they reached for so much more; they reached for absolute divinity and concomitant autonomy. In demanding a king like those of the nations around us the people of Israel did not just reach for a king to rule, they reached for so much more; they reached for tangible self-sufficiency embodied in the kingly office. In both situations the God of Israel was deemed inadequate in slaking the craving for fulfilment. In secular society fulfilment is sought in material and societal concepts, such as financial wealth, business success, fame, intellectual proficiency, and anything else creational which can be mastered or owned. When success in any of those areas has been achieved, generally disillusionment follows and the hunt was proven to be more exhilarating than the acquisition. As was the case in the 1960s, people tend to move on and away from the physical and search for the metaphysical golden grail. The holy men of India have made their millions on the back of gullible, well-endowed Westerners whom they showed the many paths to fulfilment. Continued disillusionment is inevitable. The famous entertainment group The Beatles engaged in Eastern religion for a while. The group members were unbelievably rich, but they sought for more. After a short while of shaman worship with Maharashi Yogi they came out of their delusion. In an interview they stated that, after all, they were only human. Research has shown some surprising results when polling people on their level of fulfilment in life. One would presuppose that those who are surrounded by creature comforts and have financial security would be the most fulfilled group of those polled. That did not turn out to be the case. Fulfilment or lack of it showed across the world without direct correlation to material well-being (Pew Global Attitudes Project). In fact, when it comes to people seeking the final solution when at their wits end are high across the world (between 10 and 14 on average per 100 000 people in the Western world commit suicide ChartsBin), again without direct correlation to creaturely wealth. What may not surprise a Christian reader is that, according to a recent study published in The American Journal of Psychiatry, religious affiliation is associated with significantly lower levels of suicide compared to religiously unaffiliated people, atheists and agnostics. Source: Kanita Dervic, Maria A. Oquendo, Michael F. Grunebaum, Steve Ellis, Ainsley K. Burke, and J. John Mann. "Religious Affiliation and Suicide Attempt" (161:2303-2308, December 2004).

It follows that contentment and fulfilment are derived from our convictions, rather than from our circumstances. As one millionaire once put it to his hearers, You will rarely see a millionaire smile. Personally, I must say that I have seen a few millionaires smile, but they were all Christian millionaires whose foci were not on their economic state of being, but rather on their spiritual essence as found in Christ. One of the most important statements that humanity would do well to embrace and ethically apply is the one made by Jesus Christ Himself: But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you (Matthew 6:33). The reason is that such a quest for the golden grail will lead a human being back to his created origin, to the relationship for which he was created in the first place, i.e. a harmonious relationship with his Maker. Research has shown over and over again, that those who hold Christian convictions have found fulfilment that transcends the material world and the manmade metaphysical fantasies. They have come home. Given such a homecoming, they now truly live in their Fathers world and are assured that they are cared for as the apple of His eye, that they are protected in the shadow of His wings (Psalm 17:8). Such people will not die on the path to success, because their success is assured in their Lord and Saviour Whom they serve in the sure knowledge that all their doing and their living is guided and, as to resultant outcomes, controlled by the One Who loves them totally and unreservedly. In Him His children are more than conquerors (Romans 8:37-39). Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us. For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. Does this mean that a Christian does not work hard? I would suggest he would be driven to work harder and more conscientiously than most, because he has the ultimate motivation to be a redemptive and sanctifying influence for his Father in this damaged world. But he will not work with frenetic fever to prove and improve himself, driving himself down the deadly path to success in a worldly fashion. He will dedicate talents, time, and energy in an effort to be faithful to God in whichever station his Lord places him.

Men for the sake of getting a living forget to live. Margaret Fuller (American critic, 1810-1850)

Dr Herm Zandman 21/02/2012