I recently came across the following words from late author Frederick Buechner and haven’t been able to stop thinking about them:

“It is the worldly ones, the ones wise as the world understands wisdom and strong in the way the world understands strength, who are utterly doomed.”

Why do these words haunt me?

Well, if I’m honest, I’ve spent much of my life trying to become “wise as the world understands wisdom” and “strong in the way the world understands strength.” I think we all do, to some degree.

Whatever it is we’re working on, we want it to go well. Nothing wrong with that. But if you’re anything like me, you want others to notice that it’s going well. And when those two pieces come together—success and recognition—it can be like a drug.

And yet, when I pause to think about the times in life I’ve felt closest to the person God created me to be, it’s not during seasons of great success and widespread recognition. Rather, it’s during seasons of struggle and weakness and confusion, when I’m forced to look outside myself for wisdom and strength. Again, Buechner:

“Beneath our clothes, our reputations, our pretensions, beneath our religion or lack of it, we are all vulnerable both to the storm without and to the storm within, and if ever we are to find true shelter, it is with the recognition of our tragic nakedness and need for true shelter that we have to start.”

And thus we arrive at one of the great existential tensions of my life. I get up every day and do all I can to be “successful” in the ways the world judges success. And yet, deep down, I know I’ll be a better (read truer) human being to the extent I don’t always get the “success” I strive for.

At this point, you may be thinking, “Ok John, this is more than my brain wants to think about on a Thursday morning.” 

If so, I don’t blame you.

But in the small chance my ramblings resonate, even if just a little bit, here are a few follow-up questions to consider:

1. Do you, like me, observe a negative correlation in your life between worldly success and character formation?

2. Is it possible to cultivate humility and spiritual dependence in the midst of material thriving?

3. If so, how might one do that? (asking for a friend)

A thought from a fellow traveler

On a recent episode of the Life Well Led podcast, Trent Meacham shared the benefits he has experienced from intentional work-life integration, and specifically, work-family integration. Fast forward to a moment last week, when a good friend of mine said the episode inspired him to bring his daughter into his office over the weekend. 30 minutes in, he said he was regretting it because it was harder to get work done. But by the time they were driving home, his daughter was raving about how much fun she had and he was glad to have made the sacrifice. 

I love hearing these stories of small wins sparked by the intentionality of others. It’s exactly the type of learning and growth alongside each other I had in mind when we started down this Life Well Led journey last year.

Carry on fellow travelers, we’ll talk soon.