By Staff Writer, Matt Osborne

The NBA and NHL playoffs are currently in full swing, and fans of both leagues have already been blindsided by historic upsets.

In the NHL, the top-seeded Boston Bruins blew a 3-1 series lead against the Florida Panthers, failing to even get past the first round after putting together the best regular season in hockey history.

Meanwhile, in the NBA, the Milwaukee Bucks also fell victim to being upset by an eight-seed as they were outclassed by the Miami Heat in five games.

Rarely does a team with the best record in the regular season get ousted in the first round in any sport. It’s even rarer to have it happen in two different sports in the same year!

Following the Bucks’ season-ending defeat in Game 5, Milwaukee star, Giannis Antetokounmpo, was asked by a beat reporter whether or not he felt like the Bucks’ season was a failure, given their premature exit from the playoffs.

Antetokounmpo responded, “There’s no failure in sports. There’s good days, bad days…some days you are able to be successful, some days you’re not. Some days it’s your turn, some days it’s not your turn. That’s what sports are about. You don’t always win.”

Antetokounmpo’s comments ended up creating quite the buzz, as media members and fans alike began engaging in debates about how people should think about failure and success when it comes to athletes and teams.

As followers of Christ, it’s equally important that we take some time to think about our lives in terms of failure and success.

For as long as mankind has existed, societies have always had different ways of defining success. Thousands of years ago, possessing land, accruing livestock, and having a large family would have been considered to be staples of success.

In more modern times, our society tends to place particular emphasis on gaining wealth, advancing in the workforce, or having the most social media followers.

But if we’re going to submit our lives to Jesus as our Lord, there’s only one question we must ask: How does God define success?

When Jesus’ disciples argued about who was the greatest among themselves, Jesus explained, “If anyone wants to be first, he shall be last of all and servant of all” (Mark 9:35b; NASB).

The disciples had been thinking about greatness along the lines of how the world typically views success. But with His answer, Jesus flipped the script by defining success and greatness by one’s willingness to be obedient to God’s command to serve others.

Similarly, the Apostle John encouraged fellow believers to turn their attention away from “worldly success” to focus their attention on being faithful to doing God’s will.

In 1 John 2:15-17 (ESV), John writes, “Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride of life—is not from the Father but is from the world. And the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever.” 

Because we’ve been saved by the grace of God, we have a different perspective from the rest of the world. We no longer obsess over earthly riches because we understand that our true treasure awaits us in heaven.

We no longer worry about gaining power because we acknowledge that all power and authority come from God. By submitting to God and His Word because of the love and grace He’s shown us, we even give up the pursuit of our selfish passion.

Ultimately, we perceive that the greatest thing we could do to achieve God’s idea of success is to seek after Him, know Him more, and walk in His ways.

In His prayer to the Father in John 17:3 (NIV), Jesus said, “Now this is eternal life: that they know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom You have sent.”

When Jesus spoke of eternal life, He didn’t speak of having lots of money, power, influence, resources, or intelligence. Rather, He spoke of knowing God intimately. He wanted His followers to focus on seeking after Him, instead of chasing things that only have significance in the here and now.

Preacher D.L. Moody may have summarized it best when he once famously quipped, “Our greatest fear should not be of failure, but of succeeding at something that doesn’t really matter.”

Today, let’s take some time to evaluate our priorities and how we define success and failure. As we remember God’s definition of success is vastly different from the world around us, let’s walk by the Spirit to conform our lives to align with His priorities.

I’m Matt Osborne and you can UNPACK that!

PRAYER: Heavenly Father, forgive me for the times when I get caught up chasing worldly treasures. Please help me to prioritize seeking after You and living according to Your will. Help me to live a life that is successful in Your eyes and gives You glory. In Jesus’ name, I pray, Amen.