Recently I visited a posh office in an Atlanta high-rise office building with a couple of friends. As we rode the elevator back down to the street level, one of my friends said, "You know that you have arrived when your office is in a building so tall that your ears pop every time you ride up or down on the elevator." We all laughed at the remark, but I thought to myself, "Well, I guess so, but I don’t really want my ears to pop everyday as I go and come from my office."

How would you define success? A recent query on the internet asked the question, "Do you have what it takes to get rich and stay that way?" Such a question infers that great wealth is a worthy goal and an adequate measure for success.

Recently a celebrity singer worth millions married a high school friend in a Las Vegas wedding chapel at 5:30 a.m. and by that afternoon the couple had filed for an annulment. Great wealth does not always result in great wisdom and other profound qualities of life necessary to success.

On January 3, at 11:35 p.m. (EST) the Mars Exploration Rover Spirit landed on the surface of Mars. This was an incredible accomplishment following a 302.6 million mile journey from earth, which began on June 10, 2003 as the mission was launched from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida.

The rover landed within the Gusev Crater, precisely where it was intended to land. The successful journey and landing is a tribute to the trained and disciplined minds that executed the effort. Few of us will ever breathe the rarified air surrounding geniuses of this sort, but success in the essential issues of life should be our priority.

How do you know when you have arrived? It’s probably not related to the location or size of your office. It is not necessarily related to wealth or genius. Though these things can be very important, true value is related to more substantial matters, such as:

1. Do I have an intimate personal relationship with God and with His Son, Jesus?

2. Do I love God above all other things?

3. Do I love others as myself?

4. Am I faithful to my spouse and to our family?

5. Am I quick to respond when I discover needs in the lives of others?

6. Have I generously invested my life and resources in the Bride of Christ, the Church?

7. Will I leave the world a better place than it was when I came?