I have been reading Timothy Keller’s book Counterfeit Gods in which he addresses idols in our lives.  Two nights ago I came to his chapter called “The Seduction of Success.”  What a challenging chapter.  Am I basing my significance on success, what I achieve or fail to achieve?  On one level I know that my significance comes from being an image-bearer of God.  It comes through what Jesus did for me.  My significance is based on who God made me to be through creation and in Christ, not on what I do.  And yet….  There is the constant temptation to base our worth on what we accomplish, what we achieve.  To love achievement, to trust achievement, to obey achievement as a god.  To do, do, do.  So I started asking questions:

Am I teaching a seminar at an upcoming conference (ironically on idols – hence the reason I am reading the book) out of a desire to serve God, or to add another level of achievement?

Do I blog to minister to people out of love for God or to be known, to achieve?  How does my intereaction with my statistics relate to this question?

Do I minister as a pastor and start up new ministries to minister to people out of a love for God, or to achieve one more success, to pastor a “successful” church?

There is nothing wrong with achievement.  As Keller notes, our idols are good things that we have turned into gods.  The issue is not achievement, but motive and goal.  Is my life about God or about what I do, what I accomplish – my achievements, my success?

What about you?