Home
/
RELIGION & LIBERTY ONLINE
/
Against idols of success: from self-indulgence to creative service
Against idols of success: from self-indulgence to creative service
Jul 15, 2025 5:15 PM

Propelled by an expansion in economic opportunity and the resounding cultural call to “follow your passion,” we increasingly imagine our work through lenses of calling, vocation, and “meaning-making.” From there, peting philosophies of life abound.

For the Christian, such a development inspires us to orient our hearts beyond merely materialistic transactions, redefining our work not as a means of self-fulfillment, but rather as service to our neighbors and thus to God. When directed toward the call of Christ, our economic action is bound to bear plenty of fruit.

Yet modern American society presents another framework, through which “following our passions” means precisely that: a digression into isolated, atomized pursuits of self-actualization, in which economic opportunities are overly elevated into idols of choice and achievement. When this is the framework for “finding meaning” in our work, vice, emptiness, and anxiety are sure to follow.

In an essay in The Atlantic, economist Arthur Brooks argues that modern society glorifies addiction to “success,” leading many to overprioritize external achievements. Whether we are hooked on the thrill of plishment, the dopamine hits of public affirmation, or our illusions of noble devotion (we are “married to our work”), it can be easy to convince ourselves that particular economic or social ends are where true meaning is found.

“Success in and of itself is not a bad thing, any more than wine is a bad thing,” Brooks writes. “Both can bring fun and sweetness to life. But both e tyrannical when they are a substitute for – instead of plement to – the relationships and love that should be at the center of our lives.”

Citing a range of research (such as that of psychologist Barbara Killinger), Brooks observes that “people willingly sacrifice their own well-being through overwork to keep getting hits of success.” Despite these sacrifices, Brooks concludes, “The goal can’t be satisfied; most people never feel ‘successful enough.’” In turn, we are stuck in a “hedonic treadmill” that keeps us running until we are overly exasperated, hoping and pining for another high. pares this to what some psychologists have called the “post-Olympic blues” – a fog that leaves us lost in a world lacking our traditional milestones, metrics, and objectives.

As a solution, Brooks encourages us to “chase happiness instead of success, no matter where you are in your life’s journey.” He offers three clear mendations for making this a reality:

The first step is an admission that as successful as you are, were, or hope to be in your life and work, you are not going to find true happiness on the hedonic treadmill of your professional life. You’ll find it in things that are deeply ordinary: enjoying a walk or a conversation with a loved one, instead of working that extra hour, for example. This is extremely difficult for many people. It feels almost like an admission of defeat for those who have spent their lives worshipping hard work and striving to outperform others. parison is a big part of how people measure worldly success, but the research is clear that it strips us of life satisfaction.

The second step is to make amends for any relationships promised in the name of success. This is plicated, obviously. “Sorry about choosing tedious board meetings—which I don’t even remember now – over your ballet recitals” probably won’t get the job done. More effective is simply to start showing up. With relationships, actions speak louder than words, especially if your words have been fairly empty in the past.

The last step is to end the right metrics of success. In business, people often say, “You are what you measure.” If you measure yourself only by the worldly rewards of money, power, and prestige, you’ll spend your life running on the hedonic treadmill paring yourself to others. I suggested better metrics in the inaugural “How to Build a Life” column, among them faith, family, and friendship. I also included work – but not work for the sake of outward achievement. Rather, it should be work that serves others and gives you a sense of personal meaning.

Brooks’ approach clearly represents a healthier approach than the narrower norms of status-seeking we tend to see in American life. Indeed, his mended equation for a “happy life” – “faith + family + friends + work”– offers a grounded, well-rounded roadmap for whole-life flourishing.

Yet if our goal is ultimately “chasing happiness,” we are still likely to find ourselves stuck in the pursuit of self and all the baggage es with it. Wherever hedonism is given room to rule, we will find the hedonic treadmill humming in the background. Brooks seems to understand this, given that much of his argument is focused around love and centered around others.

But knowing this, might we tilt the emphasis a bit? Rather than chasing success and happiness, we’d do better to chase creative service – toward God, toward neighbor, and driven by a love that unites heart, mind, and hand. In shifting our perspective in this way, the ponents Brooks elevates e to life, bringing meaning to life in return.

Rather than being torn peting idols of self-actualization, we can instead shift our imaginations toward a deeper and fuller vision of work and service across all of our lives, one that has little regard for our own indulgence. It operates, instead, according to a bigger picture of loving our neighbor.

Once we realize thatall is a gift – across family, munity, culture, and religious life – we no longer strive after materialistic means, whether for status and fame or our own cozy feelings. To the contrary, our generosity will lead us to work, our work will lead us to creative service, and our creative service will lead us to more love, more fellowship, and more flourishing.

domain.)

Comments
Welcome to mreligion comments! Please keep conversations courteous and on-topic. To fosterproductive and respectful conversations, you may see comments from our Community Managers.
Sign up to post
Sort by
Show More Comments
RELIGION & LIBERTY ONLINE
Acton Commentary: Vincent de Paul, Welfare Statist?
Historical church figures are being recruited for partisan political purposes, which means it must be election season. In this mentary (published October 10), Acton Research Fellow Kevin E. Schmiesing looks at the case one HuffPo writer makes for St. Vincent de Paul as a supporter of President Barack Obama. But Schmiesing warns that “viewing Vincent’s work as little more than political activism not only distorts his biography; it reduces his extraordinary, grace-enabled sanctity to ordinary passion.”The full text of his...
International Day of the Girl, and a Lot of Them Are Missing
Today, October 11, has been declared the International Day of the Girl Child by the United Nations. According to the Day of the Girl Campaign located in Washington, DC, this day “serves to recognize girls as a population that faces difficult challenges, including gender violence, early marriage, child labor, and discrimination at work” for females under 18. Admirably, this day seeks to draw attention to global issues such as the high drop-out rate of girls from school, child marriage, and...
David Brooks, Economic Liberty, and the Real Threat to Social Preservation
David Brooks recently took on the conservative movement for relying too heavily on pro-market arguments and tired formulas rather than emphasizing its historic features of custom, social harmony, and moral preservation. As I’ve already noted in response to the Brooks piece, I agree that conservatism needsa renewed intellectual foundation brought about by a return to these emphases, yet I disagree that a lopsided devotion to “economic freedom” is what’s stalling us. If we hope to restore traditionalist conservatism, we’d do...
Video: Do You Have Free Will?
At the online Prager University, lecturer Frank Pastore asks: “Do you have the ability to shape your own destiny? Is there a difference between your mind and your brain? Or is free will just a convenient delusion? Are you really just a product of physical forces beyond your control?” Listen live online to The Frank Pastore Show — The Intersection of Faith and Reason here. In Southern California, tune into to KKLA 99.5. ...
The Church is Not a Bomb Shelter
“The world thinks of the state’s sovereignty in terms of power; Catholic social doctrine understands the state to be in service to all,” says Patrick Brennan, a professor of law at Villanova University. Brennan has a new paper, ‘Religious Freedom,’ the Individual Mandate, and Gifts: On Why the Church is Not a Bomb Shelter.’ From the abstract: The Health and Human Services’ regulatory requirement that all but a narrow set of “religious” employers provide contraceptives to employees is an example...
C. S. Lewis and the free market
C.S. Lewis may not have written specifically about economics, but as Harold B. Jones Jr. explains, there’s reason to consider him a defender of the free market: . . . C. S. Lewis had much mon with the great free-market thinkers of his time. He is discovered on careful examination to have been writing about many of the same issues as Ludwig von Mises and Friedrich Hayek and on these issues to have been in perfect agreement with them. The...
Video: Amway’s Doug DeVos on ‘Free Enterprise and the Entrepreneurial Spirit’
At an Acton Institute event on Oct. 3 in Grand Rapids, Mich., Amway President Doug DeVos delivered a talk on ‘Free Enterprise and the Entrepreneurial Spirit’ to an audience of 200 people. He was introduced by the Rev. Robert A. Sirico, president and co-founder of the Acton Institute. See the Grand Rapids Press/MLive coverage of the event in “Read Doug DeVos’ take on Amway, the presidential race and Dwight Howard leaving the Orlando Magic” by reporter Shandra Martinez. DeVos’ Amway...
Double Blessings on the World
When my kids go to the pediatrician it is a mad house while we are waiting for the doctor e in. All three of my kids are doing the random dance. The oldest is behind the bench inspecting the lamp, the youngest is hopping from one book to another spread out on the floor and the boy is using the bean bag chair as a fort. When the es in, they all start talking to her at once as if...
The New and Improved AU Online
In case you haven’t already heard the rumor, allow me to fill you in: AU Online has an awesome, newly revamped website and digital learning platform. AU Online is designed to make the resources and tools of a typical Acton conference available through a university-level, online environment. The AU Online team hopes the new features and functions will make this program your go-to destination for the integration of faithful intentions and sound economic reason. To kick off the 2012-2013 schedule...
Angola Prison and Chuck Colson’s Legacy
In mid-September I ventured down to South Louisiana to visit and tour the Louisiana State Penitentiary, monly known as Angola Prison. mentary this week “Angola Prison, Moral Rehabilitation, and the Things Ahead” is based on that visit. Burl Cain, Angola’s warden, will be featured in an ing issue of Religion & Liberty. I will be providing more information on Angola and my time down there, but think of mentary as an introduction of sorts to what I witnessed. A portion...
Related Classification
Copyright 2023-2025 - www.mreligion.com All Rights Reserved