Reflection: Series Introduction
Are you an achievement addict? It’s hard not to be one in a culture obsessed with success, where much of our identity derives from our achievements. Yet if we can no longer work because of life circumstances – or a pandemic – the achievement-oriented identity can be deeply challenged. This 7-part Daily Bible series samples biblical wisdom to help us break the habit when it comes to our collective addiction to achievement.
Reflection: Life is not ours to earn
At school, my kids get drilled every week about grit and growth mindset. They’re taught that since success is the result of hard work and effort, they should never give up. Obviously, that’s excellent advice. But we rarely notice how that attitude can distort our understanding of God and the spiritual life. For instance, plenty of people believe that being a “good person” means you can “go to heaven” – in other words, that we earn our way to heaven through our good deeds.
In his address to the Areopagus in Acts 17, the Apostle Paul challenges the idea that God’s favour can be earned through our spiritual striving. Ancient religious practices may have relied upon an exchange: personal piety for divine blessing. But God the Creator, Paul says, graciously sustains all of creation. Everything is a gift of grace, which should challenge our belief that life is ours to earn. And that’s not a bad place to start as we consider how we might resist our collective addiction to achievement.
Prayer: Gracious Father, remind me that everything – from every breath we take, the food you provide, the work of our hands – all comes from you. Help me to rest in the knowledge that your grace and generosity is the condition for anything that we can do. Amen.