The Measure of Human Achievement

How should we evaluate a person’s achievements in life?
By what standard should they be measured?
How can we say who has achieved more and who less?

When it comes to worldly standards, things are fairly clear: money, fame, career (commercial or political), and so on. But what about Christians?

Unfortunately, for the majority of Christians, the goals are often the same. In order to satisfy the desires of the flesh, various false teachings have emerged—so-called prosperity gospels—claiming that God’s children should be wealthy, that God wants us to live in nice houses, drive good cars, and so forth.

Others might say that a Christian’s achievements can be measured by the scope of his ministry—how many ministries he is involved in, or for pastors, how many people attend their church, or how much time a person devotes to ministry-related activities. Most would say that they sincerely want to serve Christ. Yet again, this desire is often more closely tied to seeking honor and recognition than to a genuine desire to serve Christ.

As a result, the most desirable forms of “ministry” tend to be dinners with pastors or other influential church members (while the poor and less significant members are ignored) (Luke 14:12–14); exchanges of international visits with mutual preaching and discussions held in restaurants; worship ministries (on stage, before the congregation), and similar activities. Less popular are evangelism and street preaching, visiting the poor and widows (James 1:27), serving through prayer and fasting (Luke 2:37), and so on.

But how does God measure our achievements?
What does He expect from us?

Of course, God assigns specific ministries to individual believers:

“To one is given through the Spirit the utterance of wisdom, and to another the utterance of knowledge according to the same Spirit,
to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit,
to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another the ability to distinguish between spirits, to another various kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues.”
(1 Corinthians 12:8–10, ESV)

But this does not mean that achievements will be evaluated according to external indicators.

“But many who are first will be last, and the last first.”
(Mark 10:31, ESV)

So what, then, is the common standard of evaluation?

“For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers.”
(Romans 8:29, ESV)

We see that God has destined His chosen ones to become conformed to the image of Christ. This is the measure of a Christian’s achievement—the extent to which he has become like Christ.

God created man in His own image:

“Then God said, ‘Let us make man in our image, after our likeness.’”
(Genesis 1:26, ESV)

And just as God created man, so He desires to see man in heaven—without unnecessary additions, conformed to Christ.

By contrast, the devil’s goal is analogous: to make man like himself.

“They went after worthlessness, and became worthless.”
(Jeremiah 2:5, ESV)

“The idols of the nations are silver and gold, the work of human hands.
They have mouths, but do not speak;
they have eyes, but do not see;
they have ears, but do not hear,
nor is there any breath in their mouths.
Those who make them become like them;
so do all who trust in them.”
(Psalm 135:15–18, ESV)

We see that those whose hearts are filled with the idols of the world become like their idols—unable to see, hear, or understand. The apostle Paul (as well as Christ Himself) speaks about such believers:

“Go to this people, and say,
‘You will indeed hear but never understand,
and you will indeed see but never perceive.’
For this people’s heart has grown dull,
and with their ears they can barely hear,
and their eyes they have closed;
lest they should see with their eyes
and hear with their ears
and understand with their heart
and turn, and I would heal them.”
(Acts 28:26–27, ESV)

Therefore, a person’s task and purpose in this life is to become like Christ.
This is the true measure of our achievements—how much we have become like Him.