One of the distinctive marks of the Kingdom of God is the way success is measured. This is one of the primary clashes between the Kingdom of God and the kingdoms of the world.

In worldly kingdoms, success is about getting ahead; it’s about winning. Tom Brady and Michael Jordan are considered the G.O.A.T.s (Greatest of All-Time) because they have the championship rings to prove it. Nevermind the fact that they both play team sports; they both benefitted from other Hall of Fame caliber teammates; and they were coached by some of the greatest coaches in their respective sports. It’s far easier to reduce their greatness down to their W-L record and their postseason achievements. Not that this is without merit — not at all. In fact, that’s precisely my point: worldly success is almost 100% merit based — at least on one level. Just win, baby.

But this is one of the most telling features of the Kingdom of God inaugurated by Jesus, preached by the Apostles, and which lives today in His followers: Success in God’s Kingdom is determined by faithfulness, not by outcomes.

According to Jesus, success doesn’t mean dominating your competitors.

Jesus says Kingdom success means turning the other cheek in love, even when you’re staring at the enemy who just gave you a black eye.

Jesus doesn’t advocate for success that looks like triumphalism.

Sometimes success looks like losing…

…looks like dying…

…looks like a cross.

John the Baptist is an example of this. As his movement loses people to the swelling throngs surrounding Jesus, John says, “He must become more important while I become less important,” (John 3:30).

What humility!

In this, John is my hero.

I am convinced that John could have made proclamations about himself. When they asked, he could have said that he was, in fact, the Messiah and the crowd would’ve marched him straight to Jerusalem and crowned him. Here was a desert prophet like Moses, a fiery truth-teller like Elijah, the voice in the wilderness long anticipated by Isaiah.

I picture John being aware of this. He had to know that all he had to do was say the word and the crown would be put on his head. For all I know, Satan might have even offered it to him if / when he went through the same period of desert trial and temptation that Jesus endured.

But John refused.

He knew the part he was called to play.

He understood that he was part of the mission but not the mission itself.

“Behold,” he cried, “the Lamb of God.”

And when he pointed to Jesus, people left his movement and began to follow the true Messiah. John’s success was one of faithfulness, even when the outcome looked like “losing” in the eyes of a world blinded by triumphalism.

“I am not the Christ,” he said.

This is true faithfulness.