Success cannot be measured by exam results alone

So the time has come again for the annual A-level results day – a day of nail biting for many, a celebration for some and of consolation for others, and that’s just the parents.

Sometimes I find it hard to believe that 15 years have passed since I stood nervously in line at the alphabetically-organised results day table system, waiting to find out whether I’d done as well as I’d hoped I’d do. Other times it feels like it was a million years ago.

There’s no doubt that for the teenagers picking up their results, today is a big deal – a rite of passage, if you will. The contents of the envelope they pick up represent the culmination of two years of work, along with the school years that went before. For some it will determine whether they go on to take up the university post they want or are accepted onto their chosen career path. For others it could be a personal victory in the face of adversity and challenge.

For some, though, there will undoubtedly be disappointment; people who, for whatever reason, have not got the results they wanted – or perhaps needed to take the next step in their chosen direction.

But whatever news the exam results envelope brings for you or your loved ones today, it’s important to remember that grades and qualifications aren’t the be all and end all of life. A person is not defined by their A-level results any more than they are defined by the colour of their hair or what shoes they happen to be wearing. Exam results are an aspect of life – and one in which success should rightly be celebration – but they alone cannot determine a person’s value, either intrinsically or to society.

I’ve known parents publicly berate their children for getting a B among a host of A and A* results. Seriously, it happens. Thankfully, I’ve also known parents celebrate their children who, despite facing a host of challenges, have managed to turn up, sit exams and come away with qualifications to their names, irrespective of whether those qualifications are what society in general would consider to be “good grades”.

There’s no doubt it’s good to work well, and to see that work pay off with top grades is great. But being a good worker doesn’t always mean being a straight A student, and what counts as a “good result” is subjective and needs to take into account individual circumstances. And when a person moves on from full-time education to the next phase of their life, there will be opportunities to do a good job and get good results whatever they do, be it saving lives as a surgeon or saving lives as a hospital cleaner.

Each of us has a role to play in life. We can’t all be straight A students. We can’t all be top brain surgeons or leading scientists, chart-topping musicians or award-winning artists. We can, though, all excel at one thing, and that thing is fulfilling the role we were put on earth play. You see, when God created each of us, He did it with a purpose. Some people He created to be leading research scientists who would create treatments and cures for life-threatening diseases. Some He created to be teachers who would nurture future generations of children to be the best they could be. Some He created to tend and nurture our parks and other natural places, bringing together the hard work or man with the splendour of creation. Some He created knowing that, for one reason or another, they would not be able to undertake paid employment but knowing, also, that they would have a part to play in drawing alongside other people and supporting them in tough times.

Some people know from a young age what path their life is meant to take and they take it. Others struggle to discern which direction they should step in. Some set out on a career path and remain within that area of work for life. Others work in a variety of industries. It doesn’t really matter which type or person you are or which path you take. What matters is that work well and that that work is well intentioned.

One of my favourite Bible quotes when it comes to the area of work is Colossians 3:23: “Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men.” To me, it is a reminder that, ultimately, we should seek to honour God and serve Him the best we can in whatever area He has placed us, whether we look successful or respected in society’s eyes or not.

In one area of my life I occasionally find myself cleaning toilets at 7am. Whether you’re scrubbing toilet bowls or filling up soap and hand towel dispensers, cleaning toilets is by no means glamorous. If you ever find yourself in conversation with someone at a dinner party you’re unlikely to hear the words, “You clean toilets? Wow, that’s so amazing.” But, you know what, if nobody cleaned those toilets people would soon notice. And even something as mundane and potentially unpleasant as cleaning toilets can take on a positive light when you focus on cleaning those toilets as an act of service to the Lord.

And, ultimately, we don’t need to dwell on, or rely on, any earthly work, because those who put their trust in God – whose identity is drawn first and foremost from being a saved child of God rather than from their earthly standing – will one day take up their place in Heaven with God, where the trials of earthly work and life will be a thing of the past.

Whatever any of us thinks about the path we are on in life, Jeremiah 29:11 tells us, “’For I know the plans I have for you,’ declares the Lord, ‘plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you a hope and a future’.” And, as long as I am following God’s direction and plan for my life and taking on the tasks and challenges He has laid out for me, as Philippians 4:13 tells me, “I can do all things through Him who strengthens me.”

So well done to all those collecting A-level results today, and those picking up GCSEs next week, for getting to where you are. Enjoy the next phases of your life and, whatever path you take, remember to be the best version of you that you can be. That’s the one thing in life you can be sure that only you can achieve.

Sarah Moore is the author of For the Love of Lentil, A journey of longing, loss and abundant grace, which tells the story of her experience of pregnancy and miscarriage. Copies of the book are available here.