Thought for the Month - September 2014

"Failure is not an option" by Barry Adair
(among other Hollywood lies)

I've been thinking about failure this month. Not that I had much say in it, by the way. Many of the things I have read or listened to recently have all been about failure. And at church, Skip was preaching on the subject too.

I reckon "failure" gets something of a bad press. From childhood, you grow up and failure is something you dread. You don't want to fail your parents, you don't want to fail your teachers and you don't want to fail your friends. Failure is never rewarded (OK, not that it should be, but bear with me on this…) and to fail is always to lose. For the Hollywood movie industry and most other people, failure is not an option!

Now that I'm older and a little wiser, I can see real benefits in failure. If you have failed then you are definitely human, "to err is human" etc. By bringing up children to adulthood I can see that failure plays a huge part in the sometimes painful process of becoming a well-rounded person. All those people you look up to will have failed, some of them in spectacular ways. And if you think they haven't failed, then they just won't have shared that piece of information with you! The sort of people I look up to are those who, after personal failures, have learnt from them and go on to help, inspire and encourage others.

Many of the 'main players' in the Bible failed spectacularly too. I wanted to look briefly at a couple of these. And the reason why? Simply to show you that the phrase "failure is not an option" is just a made up line from a Holywood movie.

So if you have failed someone, or are worried about failing, or perhaps feel that you are a failure, then please read on…

Our first candidate is King David. To say that he was an important person is somewhat of an understatement. He was "a man after God's own heart" and was probably Israel's greatest King. It was David who, as a lad, had killed Goliath. He was a mighty conqueror and the people loved him. But in a moment of supreme failure, he ended up sleeping with the beautiful wife of one of the Commanders in his army. Then, so as to have her for himself, he ordered the husband to the front of the battle where, as expected, he was subsequently killed.

Our next candidate (from dozens to choose from, I might add) is Peter, one of the disciples of Jesus. Always the gutsy one, it was Peter who swung the sword at the High Priest's servant and the guards when they came to arrest Jesus. It was Peter who stepped out of the boat to meet Jesus who was walking on the water towards the disciples. Peter was always the first to vocalise his undying loyalty to Jesus. And yet, after the arrest of Jesus, the same Peter denied even knowing who Jesus was. Not once, not twice, but three times!

Both candidates are different. The eras in which they lived are different, the severities of their failures were different and the eventual outcomes were different too. However, one thing was identical. Both men were heartbroken after what they had done, they repented of their sin and they were both used mightily again by God. Someone has said that this world is just a training ground for the next one to come. Although failure isn't pleasant, and its sting and consequences can remain for a long time, many of life's best lessons are learned through failure.

If I can go back and finish the phrase I quoted earlier… "to err is human, to forgive divine". Failure can also humble us. We all have to realise that we are insignificant in this world of 7 billion souls. And yet, the Bible tells us that we matter to the God who made us. And just like a loving Father, God knows all about our failures and yet His love remains secure. All He wants is for us to acknowledge Him for who He is and what He has done for us. Ask God to forgive you from all past and even future failures and He will forgive you through Jesus Christ, His Son.

Pride can keep us all from a relationship with the God who created us and the world around us, but times of failure can often lead us to our knees. And time on our knees can lead us to closeness to God, forgiveness from all our failings and a future home on high! And as for "failure is not an option", that's simply a made-up Hollywood line given to the Gene Kranz character in "Apollo 13".

Failure is an option and one which can lead us to become the men and women who God would have us to be.

"A life spent making mistakes is not only more honourable, but more useful than a life spent doing nothing." George Bernard Shaw

"Failure should be our teacher, not our undertaker!" Anon

Just as a father has compassion on his children,
So the LORD has compassion on those who fear Him.
For He Himself knows our frame;
He is mindful that we are but dust. King David (Psalm 103:13-14)

But God demonstrates His own love towards us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Romans 5:8

Are you SURE that you have your place booked in Heaven? Read this if you're not!