You Can Be Greater Than You Think

You can be greater than you think. You can be more successful than you think. It may be easier than you think.

Before we talk about how, let’s talk about what it means to be great, or successful. To discover how you define greatness, answer a couple of questions. First, what is the greatest accomplishment in the history of the world? Is it the invention of fire? The discovery of penicillin? Landing a man on the moon? A man actually reading directions?

Now, a more personal question: What is your greatest accomplishment? Your SAT score? Lettering in four sports in high school? Winning a beauty pageant? Your current salary? What is it that gives you the most pride?

The truth is that those things, while noteworthy, do not make one great. We often think that they do. We try hard to achieve those things, and we measure others and ourselves by our accomplishments in those areas.

But God gives a different definition of greatness, a simpler one. A more attainable one. Hear what he has to say:

I may speak in different languages of men or of angels. But if I do not have love, then I am only a noisy bell or a clanging cymbal. I may have the gift of prophecy; I may understand all the secret things and all knowledge and I may have faith so great that I can move mountains. But even with all these things, if I do not have love, then I am nothing. I may give everything I have to feed the poor. And I may even give my body to be burned. But I gain nothing by doing these things if I do not have love” (1 Corinthians 13:1-3, NCV).

You may never score the winning goal. You may never be recognized as the smartest in your class. A beauty crown may be beyond your reach. But you can love. You can “Love your neighbor as yourself,” (Matthew 22:38). You can love your enemies. And your brothers. You can love your spouse, and your children.

That’s the path to greatness according to God. The path is not so much steep as it is deep. It leads, not to heights of achievement, but to the depths of our heart and soul.

“So these three things will last forever: faith, hope, and love. And the greatest of these is love” (1 Corinthians 13:13).