Quote of the Day: Jerry B. Jenkins on Success

Notice the word “obedience.” Not “discipline,” not “effort,” not even “faithfulness.” Obedience is sharper, less about what you feel capable of and more about what you’ve already decided is right. It moves the question from “Can I pull this off?” to “Will I follow through?” That’s the hinge in Jerry B. Jenkins’s line: “I don't see success as the goal. Obedience is the goal.”

Success is an outcome, which means it’s partly rented from the world: the market, the algorithm, the boss, the timing, the luck. You can do everything “right” and still miss the promotion, the launch, the applause. If your motivation is wired to those external signals, your effort becomes fragile, energized by wins, deflated by delays.

Obedience, as Jenkins frames it, is different. It’s alignment. It’s choosing to act according to your convictions, your standards, your calling, especially when the scoreboard is quiet. That shift lowers anxiety because it returns control to the one place you actually have it: your next decision. It also protects your integrity, because you stop bargaining your values for quick validation. When you make obedience the aim, success becomes a byproduct, not a master, and discipline becomes something you practice daily, not something you wait to “feel.”

Jerry B. Jenkins has earned the right to say this: as the acclaimed author behind the Left Behind phenomenon, he’s lived through the pressures of public metrics while keeping his work grounded in Christian purpose and conviction.

January 19 carries the steadying spirit of perseverance, on this date in 1840, Antarctica was first sighted, a reminder that the horizon often appears only after long obedience in the same direction. Today, pick one small act you’ve been postponing because it won’t “pay off” immediately, send the honest email, write 300 words, make the apology, do the workout, and do it as your quiet yes to what you know is right. May your faithfulness outlast your cravings for applause.