Playlist I was listening to:
Life is Life by Noah and the Whale
Ordinary by Tim be Told
Learning to Fly by Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers
Vagabond by Wolfmother
Desperation by Judith Hill
You’re Beautiful by Phil Wickham
Freebird by Lynyrd Skynyrd
Best Day of My Life by American Authors
“…success, not greatness was the only god the entire world served”
– Elizabethtown 2005
“Do you want to be successful? Or, do you want to be great?” No offense to Shakespeare, but asking, “to be? Or not to be?” becomes an existentialist question. I mean, I didn’t fully read Hamlet, so who am I to judge, but for Hamlet it comes down to life and death. I guess my concern is to question the ideas that drove him to this point?
At one point of our lives, we can sympathize with Shakespeare, and I was not an exception. I started to question the purpose of life, what it means to be human, and the existence of a God. I can fully say that I do not have all the answers to these questions, but I do know that in the midst of my questioning, I found a single shred of truth that I am still holding on: the existence of God, who loves unconditionally. But now what? I believe that the rest of our lives is spent on a journey finding answers to the other two question. We may never get there, but that is the beauty of it. This is also where I believe that most lose focus, and the idea that success, not greatness, as the world’s god comes to fruition.
As a student living in a society driven by the pursuit of success, learning how to be great can be a daunting task. This internal conflict to be great or to be successful can become an ongoing debate.
Success offers a tangible happiness from the attainment of wealth, fame, position, power… and everyday it is tempting to say, “yes! I want this ‘success’ that everyone is pursuing”. I mean, what can be more tempting than a promise of a comfortable life of pleasure and the attainment of every tangible treasure?
Glory…
Fame…
Power…
Money…
Position…
The need to be known…
The inner drive to feel important…
That desperation to fill every void in our lives with something tangible
An instant gratification
It is easy. It becomes a routine. There is always a next step for success. An attainment of one thing leads to a thirst for another. The an unquenchable hunger that will never stop. it becomes a parasite that consumes our very thoughts, actions, and being.
Dreams
Passions
Happiness
All down the drain for the pursuit of success,
In the end, was it, is it, will it even worth all this trouble?
With the end of my college career, I have come to realize that success becomes a life-sucking idea that plunges people’s lives into an utter chaos (hence the creation of this blog). It is not worth all that trouble.
I dare to be great. I want to be great. But what does that actually mean?
Jesus gives us an example through His life in the world. From birth to life to the cross.
One instance I am always reminded of is when Jesus is washing his disciples’ feet. In this story, we see Jesus dropping down to his knees to wash his disciples’ feet, even Judas, the one who will betray Him in the end.
Greatness is to love even when betrayed. To love even through the rough patches of life. To love even through trials and tribulations. Perhaps the greatest example is the cross. Jesus died for our sins to bridge the gap that can never be fulfilled except for the perfect sacrifice. Jesus took all of our sins, died, and rose again out of love for us.
“But many who are first will be last, and the last first.” – Matthew 19:30
Greatness means resilience through it all. Life will be hard, painful, annoying, full of fear, self-doubt. But also full of laughter, joy, adventure, and love. Failure is just a part of what it means to be great. What makes our lives great is that it is a continuous adventure towards God and His righteousness. When things get rough, I dare you to laugh in the face of that failure, and make people wonder why you are still smiling. After all, smiling is a very contagious disease.
“You wanna be really great? Then have the courage to fail big and stick around. Make them wonder why you’re still smiling.
With the year 2015 ahead of us, I want to dare to be great. I want to follow God’s call in my life even more passionately. I want to be transformed into who God wants me to be.
This coming July I will be leaving for the WorldRace. It is a mission trip for 11 month in 11 different countries. This is just an attempt for me to follow God’s command for me. Will you partner with me in my journey? Will you take part in my silly attempt to try to be great knowing that I will fail in the process? Will you take part in a fool’s journey toward God’s path of righteousness and be transformed in His love?
