Invest in Your Intimate Circle

By: Joel Comiskey

Narrated by: Virtual Voice

Famous author and speaker John Maxwell, has been married to his wife, Margaret, for over forty years.

When Maxwell was thirty-nine years old, he noticed that many of his college friends were getting divorced. He and Margaret didn’t think they were in danger, but they knew many of their friends had also thought their relationships indestructible. John’s career was taking off, and he didn’t want to lose his family. That prompted him to make one of the key decisions of his life, rewriting his definition of success. Instead of acclaim, advancement, or achievement, he decided that for him:

Success means having those closest to me love and respect me the most.

This made his success possible only if he included his wife and children in the journey. From that moment on, his success depended on putting family first.

When I heard Maxwell utter these words at a Promise Keepers rally in July 1996, I didn’t catch the full weight of what he said that afternoon, but over the years, I’ve had time to reflect on life, ministry, and relationships. Maxwell’s words have convinced me to prioritize what matters.

Even though community involves many areas of our lives, the most important community relationships are those closest to us. If community doesn’t work there, it doesn’t work. God’s victory comes through success in our relationships. The Christian life needs to be worked out with those closest to us. The result is victory.