In this world we come to strive for certain things in our quest for a fulfilled life. From a purely psychological point of view, here are the kinds of things listed alphabetically that undoubtedly would be included on any such list, though individual priorities will differ.

Achievement: To Successfully conclude by endeavor or ability.
Beauty: To possess charisma or personal attraction.
Creativity: To be capable of new ideas, thoughts, or designs.
Emotional Well-Being: To have peace of mind; freedom from anxieties.
Health: To be physically sound; free from disease or pain.
Humanitarianism: To love, be devoted and concerned for others.
Independence: To be free from control by others; self sufficient.
Integrity: To seek morality, honesty, dependability.
Justice: To seek fairness and equity in life.
Learning: To acquire knowledge or skill by instruction or study.
Love: To develop attachments and kinship based on respect and concern.
Loyalty: To seek faithfulness to people, causes, or organizations.
Peace: To seek reconciliation and end hostilities with others.
Pleasure: To seek gratification of the senses, mind, or emotions.
Power: To seek physical, mental, or moral control over others.
Recognition: To desire special notice, attention, approval, or respect.
Religion: To seek service in behalf of a Supreme Being.
Security: To seek stability and assurance of basic needs.
Skill: To desire technical expertise and effective use of abilities.
Wealth: To have an abundance of worldly possessions.
Wisdom: To have the capacity to judge with insight and soundness.

These attributes have been color coded to signify three different levels of personal aspirations. You will notice that the ones in yellow relate principally to self, the ones in tan principally seek the welfare of other people, and the remaining one concerning  religion  relates to "God".

These types of aspirations appear to be reasonable longings for fulfillment in this life, and the way we observe people as they allocate their times and efforts is certainly consistent with such goals. However, we also have in these a construct that enables each one of us to evaluate our own desires. Take a look at the list and ask yourself, 

• Which of these are most important to me?

• In which of these areas am I spending the majority of my time and effort? 

We are fortunate that the Bible addresses this topic in several ways. Here we will consider its teaching by studying the lives of two men in the Bible, one in the Old Testament and the other in the New Testament. In retrospect, I believe we would agree that both men impacted their worlds in significant ways, but their lives were lived very differently, and we shall now see with quite different results with respect to the question,  "What does it take to live a fulfilled life?".

KING SOLOMON 

Solomon wrote three books in the Old Testament, i.e. Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and the Song of Solomon. However, it is Ecclesiastes, his biography written near the end of his life, that provides us with a startling assessment of how he finally regarded the ultimate value of his life. 

From the world’s perspective Solomon achieved immeasurable success. 

• He started on the inside track with God's favor.

• His wisdom was unequaled.

• He was the richest man in the world.

• He ruled a nation at the height of its glory that extended its boundaries as far as Egypt to the South and present-day Iraq to the East.

• His military strength was so impressive that surrounding Gentile nations paid him tribute.

• He enjoyed almost unlimited power within his own country.

• He was favored by God to build the Temple in Jerusalem.

• To top it off, he had 700 wives along with 300 concubines! 

It is unarguable that Solomon's success in life far surpassed anything that we could ever hope to achieve, and I believe that a brief scan of the previous measures for success in this life will show that Solomon should have felt "fulfilled", yet even with his awesome achievements, here is how he finally evaluated his life:

There would be no hint as to the reason for such a somber conclusion were it not for the following negative statements made in I Kings concerning Solomon's relationship with God near the end of his life.

Can we conclude on the basis of Solomon's own testimony that in the end he did not feel that he had lived a "fulfilled" life, and that his failure was in some way related to the fact that he finally was living a life in disobedience against and out of fellowship with God?

THE APOSTLE PAUL

Paul was also a prolific writer of books in the Bible, authoring 13 letters in the New Testament, including 9 letters to various churches and 4 letters to individuals. Moreover, his letters include numerous references to himself, enabling us to gain insight into just how Paul felt about himself right up to the end of his life.

As with Solomon, we should rate Paul according to the same criteria for his expected success in this life:

• Unlike Solomon, he began the first half of his life in disobedience to and out of favor with God.

• Though Paul's intellect was never questioned, his legitimacy as a messenger from God, and his wisdom in matters pertaining to sound doctrine were continually contested.

• Unlike Solomon, money was never a mark of Paul's portfolio of success, and he spent the final years of his life under forcible detention by the Romans, thus in abject poverty.

• Unlike Solomon, Paul not only received no honor by reason of high office but was actually oppressed by the political powers then in being.

• Unlike Solomon, Paul had no army and thus no one from whom he exacted tribute.

• Unlike Solomon, Paul had little power within his own country and received no accolade from his fellow countrymen who considered him to be a "turncoat" and betrayer from his original religion of Judaism.

• Unlike Solomon, Paul was never favored by God to build any physical edifices for worship, although he did claim to have received special revelation from God concerning a spiritual "Temple" to be built called the "Body of Christ".

• To top it off, Paul was neither married nor did he have concubines!

Surely on the basis of the criteria listed in the preface to this Topic, considered essential for success from the world's point of view, Paul should have become a bitter man, plagued by obvious failures to secure even a token of fulfillment from either the world or his own countrymen, yet here is the record on the basis of his own testimony, first during his imprisonment by the Romans, then a few years later just before his martyrdom.

What are to conclude concerning this matter? What does it take to live a "fulfilled" life?

Solomon's and Paul's evaluations of their respective lives are almost completely opposite to those expected by independently measuring them against psychological criteria generally accepted for success in this life! Solomon, who clearly would have scored an "A", felt unfulfilled, whereas Paul, who certainly could have scored no higher than a "D", somehow felt fulfilled.

Surely we must conclude that if Solomon and Paul correctly appraised their lives, the generally accepted worldly criteria for fulfillment are absolutely wrong. Now they may have appeared to be correct during their lives, for everything seemed to be going well for Solomon, but little may have seemed right for Paul (II Corinthians 11.22-33). Nevertheless, in the end only one thing really mattered. That one item on the list labeled "religion", added almost as an afterthought, turns out to be the only one that really counted. Moreover, it was not just religion that was meaningful, for both Solomon and Paul worshipped the same God. Rather, it concerned the type of relationship that each had with their God. Solomon's was good at the beginning but poor at the end, whereas Paul's was poor at the beginning but good at the end.

Should we not conclude that a right relationship with the God of the Bible is absolutely essential for a "fulfilled" life, that this is really the only essential factor for such a result, and that it is better for it to be late than never?