An individual's subjective interpretation of success directly correlates with the general attitude of the society as a whole. Therefore, in a society where affluence and dominance have gradually become the universal standards for measuring a person's overall achievements in life, people tend to conform to the social norm and adopt the collective definition as their own. For that reason, numerous individuals aspire to succeed through diligence and perseverance, hoping to receive the exuberant social recognition, and accumulate wealth and power for their own disposal. Today, that mentality is the dominant driving force of society in the United States. Yet, according to the Gospel of Luke and various other books in the Bible, the modern perception of success conspicuously contradicts with biblical teachings, in which human success should emphasize in the glorification of God and His creations and not of the self.
             Today, the meaning of success reflects the pervasiveness of the ideologies of capitalism and materialism in U.S. society. Through either media or personal experience, people admittedly recognize the advantages behind the economic, social, and intellectual transcendence of others. This causal relationship proves to be most obvious among the celebrities in political, business, and entertainment arenas, due to the fame and prosperity ascribed to them. Under the spotlight of public scrutiny, the comfortable and prosperous life that those privileged figures lead becomes the admiration of many people, for they have proven to surpass their contemporaries in both their abilities and hard work. People brand them as models of success, because they have succeeded in what the majority of the populations have failed to achieve. Consequently, their examples compel U.S. society to equate money and power as signs of respect and importance, forcing people to adopt the notion that material reward as the representation of a person&apos...