October 2nd, 2013.

1 Corinthians 3:6-8 KJV — I have planted, Apollos watered; but God gave the increase. So then neither is he that planteth any thing, neither he that watereth; but God that giveth the increase. Now he that planteth and he that watereth are one: and every man shall receive his own reward according to his own labour.

How should I think about “success”?

Here’s Paul expressing a wonderful truth and its logical Biblical consequence, which is sadly not mirrored in the world!
There is no significant enterprise achieved without cooperation, nor any that can be consummated without divine assistance.

The company I work for develops, sells, implements and supports computer software. I can hardly count the number of groups involved in making one of our customers successful. There are those who determine what the market requires, those who write the software. There are writers, Quality Assurance analysts, product packaging and distribution specialists, sales people, consultants, support analysts, accountants and many more!
I’m also blessed to sing in our church choir. It would be silly not to admit that there are many times that people take pleasure in what we do and see glory being given to God. It’s a rare person, however, that sees all the people involved in making the music happen. There’s the choir itself — more than 100 people. There’s our wonderful orchestra. We have our Worship Pastor … and his team. But there are also our Premise Keepers, who make sure that our Worship Center and other facilities are in great shape. There are greeters, ushers, … When all is said and done, it’s hundreds of people.
Then there’s our home. Of course, my beloved wife is the orchestrator of all that happens — but we depend on more people than we can count for many different services … power, light, water, yard work, postal service …
Truly there is no human endeavor of any consequence that does not depend on the cooperation of many people. It is sometimes easy to forget that in an instant — “a twinkling of the eye” — any or all of those people might be gone, and the whole activity might fail. For there to be any success, God must provide. It is God that gives the increase. Lange’s Commentary gives a splendid definition of “increase”, “a designation of the attainment of an object which had been furthered by the Divine powers at work in the instruments, and by divers other auxiliary operations of grace which accompanied or prepared the way for them.” Without Divine powers, there is no increase!

In the divine economy, of course, faithful effort is faithfully rewarded. “every man shall receive his own reward according to his own labour.” Of course in the world, it is not so. It is not labour that receives reward — but contribution, imperfectly measured, and valued at a “market” price.
In the divine economy there is no difference between “he that planteth and he that watereth”. There is one Master, and we are all servants alike — different in service, but still the same in position. In the world, it is not so. Some “servants” are regarded as much more important, with a much greater status than others!

We must be careful how we look at success. If I value myself according to a position I have reached and rewards I collect, I set myself up for “failure” in earthly and heavenly terms. If, on the other hand, I value myself only as to whether I serve the Master or not, I may still be an earthly failure — but I will be a heavenly success!