The Eternal Prize: Why Worldly Success Can Never Truly Satisfy

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This weekend, millions around the world will experience one of the most grandiose and ostentatious events in sports. I’m not talking about the Olympics, I’m talking about the 60^th annual Super Bowl — or Super Bowl LX if you’d like.

After a long and exhausting season of large, muscle-bound men hitting each other with great force, there are now only two teams left. The media buildup to this final NFL battle will go global, and willing advertisers will pay $8 million for a 30-second ad in hopes that many among the massive viewership will buy what they’re selling (Statista, 2026).

The event itself provides two grand prizes. To the victors, they will have finished their season without losing their final game and carry the title of the Super Bowl champions into NFL history. There is not really much money to be gained in this pursuit: the prize money for members of the winning team is $171,000 each (Smith, 2026). That’s small change really for men who earn millions in annual salary.

The other grand prize is for the owners. As a collective, the owners have stuck with the choice of Bad Bunny as the halftime show, all the while being criticized for inviting the controversial Puerto Rican superstar rapper (Kahler, 2026) to perform. The NFL has maintained support for the contentious singer, who has an incredible worldwide audience. The football owners’ grand prize is growing their fan base, with the hopes of expanding into Latin American countries (Kahler, 2026).

Meanwhile, neither of these prizes will endure for long. A week or so after this dazzling spectacular, the hype of playing in the game, and even winning, will fade. For some, the entire event may not even be satisfying. Pro Bowl wideout and gifted receiver A.J. Brown said this just two weeks after winning the big game as a member of the Philadelphia Eagles in 2025: “(I)t wasn’t fulfilling.” Speaking on a podcast, Brown added, “It didn’t do anything for me. It didn’t do a lot for me that I thought” (Wong, 2025).

Brown shared that he had watched people winning the big game, celebrating, drinking and doing other things associated with victory, so he thought it would be more satisfying. But the elation of winning the one of the biggest prizes in all of sports faded soon afterwards – only two weeks later. Certainly, you might expect that someone who had worked so hard to achieve the ultimate achievement of his profession would be satisfied for longer than two weeks!

Is it in our design, being made in the image and likeness of God, that the things of Earth will never fully satisfy us? Or is it the fact that God planned for us to spend eternity with Him? Everything He created was just a backdrop for Him to dwell among us as in the Garden of Eden, so He could fill us to overflowing with His presence. God knew that nothing here on this stage would fully satisfy like the applause of the Audience of One.

Perhaps we should blame God for our dissatisfaction. After all, it was He who designed us to only ever be satisfied with one thing – His magnificent presence. How do I know this? The Psalmist David wrote of God that, “In Your presence is fullness of joy; At Your right hand are pleasures forevermore” (Psalm 16:11, NKJV).

In the New Testament, James, the half-brother of Jesus, made this observation: “Whoever therefore wants to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God. Or do you think that the Scripture says in vain, ‘The Spirit who dwells in us yearns jealously’” (James 4:4b-5).

According to pastor, author, and speaker Alistair Begg, God longs for us with a passionate jealousy that we would be all His, that we would be His alone (Begg, 2007).

Jesus was offered great prizes of glimmering cities by Satan. (See Matthew 4.) Instead, our Savior chose early morning communion with God, His Father (Mark 1:35 ESV).

In Orson Welles’ classic film “Citizen Kane,” the main character (of the same name) had achieved incredible success, yet he longed for his younger innocent days and the love of his mother, as represented by his childhood sled with the word “Rosebud” painted on it (Wakeman, 2025). Kane was playing on Rosebud the day he was taken away from his home and his mom. Rosebud represented a nurturing love, being cherished and loved fully — something that all his power, influence, and shallow friendships would never provide (Wakeman, 2025).

Author C.S. Lewis wrote about the same missing piece in “Mere Christianity” — perhaps his most famous work: “If I find in myself a desire which no experience in this world can satisfy, the most probable explanation is that I was made for another world” (Lewis, 2001).

Jesus told a series of parables about the greatest prize of all. (See Matthew 13:44-46.) He described this prize like a treasure hidden in a field that, when found, caused the finder to sell everything he had to purchase the field. Jesus described this prize as a “pearl of great price” (Matt. 14:46), which — when discovered — caused an expert in fine pearls to then sell everything he had to acquire this magnificent prize!

What is the prize in these parables? Most biblical scholars suggest it‘s the knowledge of the kingdom of God. Having access to an eternal home and life everlasting in the presence of our Heavenly Father and His Son would be of more value than any earthly possession, wouldn’t it? Some have suggested that this prize might be us — those who have been given the opportunity to know God, to be known by Him, and to dwell in His kingdom forever!

Either way, Jesus’ emphasis on the great value of this prize directs all of us to consider that nothing here on Earth is equal to this great eternal prize. Nothing in this life has lasting value. Our greatest achievements are meaningful, and our actions of fidelity and valor are worthy of recognition… for a time. It’s nice to receive honor, and it’s great to be rewarded when we have worked hard to gain success. But these awards cannot come with us, nor would we take them if we could.

I am grateful to God for the recognition I have received in each of the organizations I have served. I also have been recognized before my peers and senior leadership for incredible accomplishments — all by God’s great power and with the help of other amazing people. I have been blessed with incredible appreciation and acclaim. I have diplomas around my office, honoring my completion of five degree programs. I have several binders filled with notes from students and parents, from colleagues and former supervisors, praising my work ethic and recognizing several notable accomplishments. I am truly grateful to God for all of these earthly prizes. But none of them will fit in my casket, and they pale in comparison to the one great prize, as described by Apostle Paul, who wrote from prison about, “the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 3:14).

From a dank prison cell, chained to a Roman soldier 24 hours a day, the former antagonist and persecutor of Christians lifted his eyes towards his heavenly reward and saw clearly the distinctive nature of this eternal prize. He wrote to his disciples in Philippi about how he could easily boast of his earthly accomplishments, which far surpassed his peers’ (Philippians 3:4-6).

But as soon as these past achievements came to mind, he would dismiss them all for the greatest prize of all, saying that whatever he gained, “I have counted loss for Christ.” Paul continued, “Yet indeed I also count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord” (Philippians 3:7-8). 

The apostle considered everything else rubbish to gain Christ and be found in Him. From a fortified place of detention and punishment, this converted murderer gave a magnificent testimony about the importance of this heavenly prize — one of much greater worth than his own health and safety (Philippians 3:10-11).

When you know you have secured this heavenly treasure, where moth and rust cannot destroy this magnificent prize, Scripture says your heart will also be there (Matthew 6:19-21). Nothing else will truly satisfy your soul, and that’s the way God meant it to be.

It’s worth noting that A.J. Brown is a man of faith. I’m not sure if this played into his perception two weeks after the dazzle and pomp of the big game faded, but it was the prophet Samuel in his old age who warned the Israelites that they should find joy in serving the Lord — that it might be their greatest joy and prize. “And turn not aside after vain and worthless things which cannot profit or deliver you, for they are empty and futile” (1 Samuel 12:21, Amplified Bible Classic Edition).

So, enjoy the Big Game, but focus on the prize that will never fade away (1 Peter 1:4).

Sources:

Begg, A. (2007, September 30). Fights and Quarrels. Truth for Life: A Study in James, Volume 3. Retrieved from https://www.truthforlife.org/resources/series/faith-that-works-volume-3/.

Kahler, K. (2026, January 30). Why the NFL stood by Bad Bunny for the Super Bowl halftime show. ESPN.com [Web Blog]. Retrieved from https://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/47757332/nfl-stood-bad-bunny-super-bowl-half-show-trump.

Lewis, C.S. (2001). Mere Christianity: Revised and Enlarged. San Francisco: Harper.

Smith, N. (2026, January 21). Super Bowl 2026 prize money: How much do winners of NFL showpiece get? US Sun Sports News [Web Blog]. Retrieved from https://www.the-sun.com/sport/15819058/super-bowl-2026-prize-money-nfl/.

Statista (2026). Average cost of a 30-second Super Bowl TV commercial in the United States from 2002 to 2026. Statista.com: Advertising and Marketing. Retrieved from https://www.statista.com/statistics/217134/total-advertisement-revenue-of-super-bowls/.

Wakeman, G. (2025, July 22). ‘Rosebud’: The ‘Citizen Kane’ Mystery Explained. History.com [Web Blog]. Retrieved from https://www.history.com/articles/rosebud-citizen-kane-meaning.

Wong, K. (2025, February 20). Retrieved from https://www.si.com/nfl/aj-brown-candidly-explained-eagles-super-bowl-win-satisfying.