Last week, Elizabeth Taylor died. Did you see it? The same day we were in the midst of bombing Libya; Japan’s in the midst of a titanic disaster with potential global consequences and the lead story on the evening news was Elizabeth Taylor. The pinnacle of an era – had died.

Have you ever noticed how the world defines success? The world’s definition of success seems to be based on a person’s health, their wealth or prosperity. Sometimes it’s defined by the size house or the neighborhood they live in. The world also seems to measure success by the kind of car one drive’s; their bank account; their savings; their portfolio; their investments; the extravagence of their toys and properties. The list could go on and on…

But more importantly, is this how God measures success. All that matters at the end of life, is God’s definition of success. Do you think God would have defined Elizabeth Taylor as successful? Only He knows her heart. The Bible says, “by their fruit you will know.” (italics mine).

Elizabeth Taylor was not a woman of my era – I know little about her. She was beautiful and apparently VERY talented. She was adored by all of Hollywood and the media alike. But what I read in the paper and saw in the news, was a train wreck. I would NEVER want my daughter to imulate her. (Or anyone like her for that matter.) Yet, she was lifted up last week as someone to be admired, cherished, almost immortalized.

This whole “isn’t Elizabeth Taylor great” thing, got me thinking. As believers, we have to be careful not to think like the world thinks. It’s so easy to get sucked-in to the world’s philosophies. We have to be intentional about not valuing what the world values – but valuing what God values. Knowing what God values and how He defines success – will require us to open our Bibles each day and to take the time to find out! Taking the time (first thing in the morning or at some point during our day) to set our mind on the things above.

Personally, I believe the people are who are most successful in God’s eyes – would probably surprise us! Don’t misunderstand, we are not called to judge – but we are called to be fruit inspectors. What’s the quality of your fruit?