Why Doesn’t Success Satisfy?
Success can impress the world without satisfying the heart. Discover why pursuing God leads to the life we were created to live.
J. Paul Getty, a wealthy oilman of the last century, wondered how poor men could be married successfully all their adult lives to one woman but he, with all his wealth, had not learned the secret of a successful marriage. He was married five times.
J. Paul Getty did not pursue the things God values.
Earnest Hemingway was an articulate genius who lived an adventurous life. But even with all his awards and acclaim, he couldn’t navigate the void inside himself and tragically took his own life. He is said to have left a note stating the futility of life.
Ernest Hemingway did not pursue the things God values. Are you?
You might think of all sorts of explanations for their failures, or think of other notable people who’ve risen to the pinnacles of public success but failed to achieve spiritual satisfaction. One fact remains constant: a person who does not pursue the things God values will always be missing something essential. Success apart from God cannot satisfy the human heart.
When a nation is filled with people who no longer value what God values, individual emptiness spreads until wickedness becomes commonplace.
The prophet, Micah, spoke to his nation at a time when they were pursuing every lifestyle and activity that was contrary to God’s values. They had an appearance of being religious, but their actions proved they were self-seeking, self-pleasing, wealth-seeking, unloving, violent, wicked, liars.
As a result, God allowed the consequences to be tragic desolation, hunger that could not be satisfied, accumulation that could not be kept. For all their pursuits and wealth, the people experienced very miserable lives.
Micah cried out to remind them, “He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the LORD require of you but to do justice and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God” (Micah 6:8 ESV).
Success without God can impress the world, but it can never satisfy the heart. Nothing we pursue can satisfy us if it takes the place of the God who created us. We were made to know and enjoy Him, and every lesser pursuit eventually disappoints.
If you long for a life of lasting satisfaction, take your eyes off of pleasing yourself, making your desires and needs your driving goal. Satisfaction comes when you pursue God, serve Him by loving people, and do what God has said is right and just.
Justice. Mercy. Humility before God. Those aren’t simply moral duties—they’re the pathway to the life we were created to live. Success can never satisfy because you were created for something greater—the God who made you.
Today, pursue what God values—you’ll discover that the greatest treasure isn’t found in what you gain, but in the God you come to know.
