Success in an Unfulfilling Joy | Content Ambition
But there is contentment in Christ. Our ambitions for Jesus will fulfill our joy. The success of the Savior is that there is no “next tournament” or “next achievement” after him. It is him.
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Contentment, career, and identity are intertwined like an inseparable trio. When we meet someone new, we typically ask, "What do you do?" Though framed as a job question, it's really about identifying the purpose to which we're committing our lives. People dedicate five years to medical school to become doctors. They work their way up from junior quality control coach to NFL head coach. They serve as unpaid interns just to be in the room where decisions happen, hoping for their shot. They start from the bottom to get here.
When we witness excellence, we glimpse the intense dedication behind it. Consider LeBron James investing $7 million annually on maintaining his body. Or László Polgár, the Hungarian chess teacher and educational psychologist who proved that "geniuses are made, not born" by raising his three daughters—Susan, Sofia, and Judit—to become chess prodigies.
I reflect on my own contrasting experience: beginning piano lessons in kindergarten, relying solely on natural talent, becoming reasonably proficient only to abandon it for basketball. Though I remember my lessons, I never invested the time necessary to achieve greatness.
So when Scottie Scheffler produces a Tiger Woods-like streak—both winning their first four major championships within exactly 1,197 days of their first major victory—naturally he faces questions about finding fulfillment in golfing greatness. From our perspective, he's reaching the pinnacle of his hard work and determination. He should be savoring his success.
But how does he respond?
"It's one of the greatest joys of my life, but does it fill the deepest wants and desires of my heart? Absolutely not."
What? The career you've spent countless hours preparing for and dreaming of doesn't fulfill you?
He doesn't deny it brings joy. It's good to appreciate the gifts and talents God has given us. We should feel excited and happy when we accomplish something great.
But this differs from it fulfilling us. Most of us make this leap, believing that because we've invested significant time, effort, and devotion, it will satisfy our deeper need for contentment.
I experienced this while studying for the ACT college exam, which would determine my potential scholarship money. I took it five times, starting in 7th grade. Initially, I knew I had to take it but placed no weight of contentment on it. I was so unconcerned that I forgot my calculator, yet still scored a 20.
As I entered high school, my ambition grew dramatically: to become valedictorian, to be the first student in our school's history to receive over $1 million in scholarship offers, and to help our class become the first to reach over $1 million in total scholarship offers. I attacked ACT preparation like a job. My parents supported this approach, and I even paid for an online preparation service with three-hour Wednesday evening classes that I had to watch later.
My scores rose from 20 to 24 to 30. While 30 was significant, I knew it wouldn't get me where I wanted to go. I became so consumed that I felt frustrated whenever my practice test results fell short. On my fourth attempt, my score dropped to 29.
I studied diligently and practiced consistently. During the exam, I used smiling techniques and brief mental breaks to clear my head, eventually earning a 34.
I was elated and went on to achieve all my goals: Valedictorian. $1.2 million in scholarship offers. Our class received $1.9 million total.
I felt joy in the moment, but it didn't truly fulfill me. I struggled with how fleeting that joy was. After briefly enjoying my success, discontent returned.
Why did I have it so wrong while Scottie had it right?
Because of where our treasure lay.
In Jesus' Sermon on the Mount, he addresses many topics that challenge those who served God with their lips but not their hearts, such as the Pharisees who elevated their laws and earning potential above fidelity to God.
"Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. The eye is the lamp of the body. So, if your eye is healthy, your whole body will be full of light, but if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light in you is darkness, how great is the darkness! No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money." Matthew 6:19-24
Jesus argues that if we seek earthly treasures rather than heavenly ones, we'll be greatly disappointed. Everything on earth will pass away—whether it's money in our bank accounts, our homes, or our jobs.
He then makes a statement that initially seems backward: "For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also." You might expect him to say, "For where your heart is, there your treasure will be also," but Jesus emphasizes that our hearts follow our treasure, not the other way around. We all have things that appear valuable: family, friends, finances, vacations, success, or being the top golfer at a given moment. If these become our ultimate treasure, our hearts become trapped there.
If I'm consumed with being valedictorian and being the best, my heart resides there—not with God. And if my heart isn't with God, it won't find satisfaction.
Scottie Scheffler recognizes this. He knows golf cannot be his treasure. Can it be something to enjoy? Yes. But should it be where his heart ultimately lies? No. He understands that true satisfaction comes only through a relationship with Jesus Christ, being content in all circumstances through Him.
He said, "You work your whole life to win a tournament for only a few minutes. It is a euphoric feeling." Then you win, hug your wife and kids, and ask, "What's for dinner?"
If we seek satisfaction in other treasures, we'll eventually ask, "What's the point?"
This is the right question when looking for satisfaction and contentment in anything other than Christ.
He is the fountain of living waters and the bread of life. He tells us, "blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied" (Matt. 5:6).
If we don't look to Christ for satisfaction, we commit two grave errors.
"For my people have committed two evils: they have forsaken me, the fountain of living waters, and hewed out cisterns for themselves, broken cisterns that can hold no water." Jer. 2:13
We appreciate Scottie's bluntness because it is so countercultural. Especially in America, our lives are dominated by our jobs. We can become infatuated with them to the point of sin.
It's interesting to note that there's another athlete I've written about with the same problem but a much different response. Kevin Durant, one of the 30 greatest basketball players of all time, has been quoted saying that after winning his championships with the Golden State Warriors, the success did not live up to the hype of fulfilling him like he thought it would.
Success alone is an unfulfilling joy. Durant and Scheffler's athletic careers depend on there never being a "done" until they retire. Even after winning a championship, it becomes a race to accumulate as many as they can. There is no rest in success. There is no rest in these treasures.
John Calvin sums it up well in On the Christian Life: "Our lust is wild, and our craving endless in yearning for power and honors, in accumulating wealth, in amassing all those meaningless things that appear to make for magnificence and pomp."
But there is contentment in Christ. Our ambitions for Jesus will fulfill our joy. The success of the Savior is that there is no “next tournament” or “next achievement” after him. It is him. He is the prize. He is the fulfillment of our greatest desires and better than any fleeting ones we may have.
This is the point.