Failure is an integral part of life. Regardless of how hard we try; regardless of how smart we are; regardless of how well prepared we are, all of us experience failures throughout our lives. And yet, even though it is inevitable, most of us try to avoid failure as much as possible.
Failure can be a double-edged sword. On the one hand, failure can be very negative. Afterall, failure frequently comes with dire consequences that we would prefer to avoid. Even worse is the fear of failure. Many people allow their fear of failure to grow and grow, until it takes over their lives. An unchecked fear of failure can become paralyzing. We can become so dominated by this fear that we are afraid to step out and try something new. We become so afraid that we are going to fail that we never take a chance; never make an investment; or never seek to grow. We become imprisoned by our own fears of failure.
On the other hand, failure can be very positive. Sometimes we can learn and grow from our failures. There is a story about Thomas Edison, which illustrates this point. Edison and his associates were trying to develop a better battery. After 9,000 attempts which all failed, one of his associates said, in frustration: “Isn’t it a shame that with the tremendous amount of work … you haven’t been able to get any results?”
Edison, with a smile on
his face, replied: “Results! Why, man, I
have a gotten a lot of results! I know
several thousand things that won’t work!”[i] We can learn, mature, and grow from our failures. At the same time, the fear of failure can
also be positive, if it motivates us to try our hardest at whatever we are
doing.
The Apostle Peter
provides an excellent case-study in how to rebound from failures, learn from
these failures, and then succeed in the future.
The four gospels paint an interesting portrait of the type of person
that Peter was. He was a talkative extrovert,
who was very positive and optimistic. Peter
was clearly a natural leader, who quickly became the spokesman for Jesus’ band
of disciples. Jesus, himself, came to
recognize Peter’s leadership skills. In
Matthew 16, Jesus asks his disciples who they think he is. Almost immediately, speaking for all of the
disciples, Peter responds, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God” (v.
16). Jesus is impressed with Peter’s
insight and he tells Peter that he will become a leader of the early Church
(vv. 17-19).
Yet for all of his
strengths, Peter also has a very serious personality flaw: Peter is just incredibly impetuous; he is
always putting his foot in his mouth.
This occurs several times in the gospels, but perhaps the most serious
instance occurs on the night in which Jesus was betrayed, arrested, tried, and
condemned to death. During his last
moments alone with his disciples and followers, Jesus tries to prepare them for
what is about to happen. Peter
impetuously interrupts Jesus and says, “Lord…I will lay down my life for you.”
With what I imagine was
great sadness, Jesus rebukes Peter: “Will
you lay down your life for me? Very
truly, I tell you, before the cock crows twice [at dawn], you will have denied me
three times.” (John 13: 36-38)
Of course, that is exactly what happened. Later that night, while Jesus is being
questioned by the authorities, Peter decides to warm himself by a nearby fire. It is there that he does,
indeed, deny Jesus in three separate conversations with different persons.
That threefold denial of
Jesus represents a major failure by Peter.
He fails as a leader of the disciples and other followers of Jesus. Even worse, Peter fails to keep his promise of
ultimate loyalty to Jesus.
The next day, Jesus is
crucified and buried, but three days later, on Easter morning, Jesus is
resurrected. Following his resurrection,
the four gospels record many different instances in which the resurrected
Christ appears to different followers.
One of those instances occurs at sunrise by the shores of the Sea of Tiberias
in Galilee. After spending the night
fishing in their boats, the disciples see Jesus on the beach. When they come ashore, they find that Jesus
is preparing a breakfast of fish and bread for them. Jesus invites them to come and eat. Essentially Jesus and the disciples have an
early morning fish fry on the beach.
When the breakfast is
over, Jesus turns to Peter and confronts him about his threefold
denial. Jesus asks, “Simon, son of John,
do you love me more than these?” Can you
imagine how utterly awful Peter must have felt?
Here he was, the acknowledged leader of the other disciples; a
leadership role that Jesus had confirmed.
Yet, of all the disciples, Peter is the one who had denied Jesus over
and over and over—three times.
Peter replies, “Yes,
Lord, you know that I love you.”
To which Jesus responds, “Feed
my lambs.”
This exchange is repeated
twice again, for a total of three times—corresponding to the three times that
Peter had denied Christ. Each time Peter
affirms his love for Jesus, and each time Peter is told to care for Christ’s
sheep.
It is important to
recognize that Jesus does not reject Peter because Peter had made this awful
mistake.
Instead, Christ offers Peter an opportunity for atonement and
healing. Then, in calling upon Peter to
care for his sheep, Jesus encourages Peter to resume the leadership role that
he has had among the disciples. (See
John 21: 1-17)
After Christ’s Ascension
into Heaven, Peter becomes one of the strong, visionary leaders of the early Church. At Pentecost, when Christ’s followers receive
the Holy Spirit, it is Peter who takes the lead by preaching the first
Christian sermon, which results in the conversion of 3,000 people. (See Acts 2.) Later, when
the early Church leaders meet in Jerusalem to decide whether non-Jews can be
included in the Church, Peter is one of the visionary leaders who argues
persuasively for welcoming everyone who seeks to follow Christ. (See Acts 15:
6-29.)
To summarize, Peter
learned from his disastrous failure and grew to become a powerful, visionary
leader in the early Church.
As
Christians, we believe that God has given each of us a unique portfolio of
special gifts and talents, which we can use to make a real difference in the
world and to establish and build God’s Kingdom.
We can make the world a better place by using our special gifts and
talents at home, at work or school, and in our community. Gathered together as the church, God calls us
to this work of Kingdom building, collectively using our gifts and talents,
through service and witness.
Whether as individuals or
collectively as the Church, God does not intend for us to be paralyzed by fear
of failure. Actually, doing nothing
because we fear failure is evidence of an acute lack of faith. God calls upon us—both as individuals and as
churches—to step out in faith, trusting that God will provide. Will we sometimes fail? Of course, we will experience failures. But, failure can become important building
stones for success in the future. We can
learn and grow and mature from our failures.
This is just as true for churches as it is for individual persons.
Come, join us this Sunday
(October 18th), as we continue our exploration of Christian leadership by
learning about successful failing. Christ United Methodist Church, is located at
4530 A Street in Lincoln, Nebraska. Our
classic worship services are at 8:30 and 11:00 on Sunday mornings.
Everyone is welcome and accepted
because God loves us all.
[i]
Reported by the Quote Investigator. See http://quoteinvestigator.com/2012/07/31/edison-lot-results/,
downloaded 15 May 2014.
This really speaks to me. I've struggled a lot with the fear of failure. Many of us need to be reminded that God would rather we try and fail than not try at all. I pray for the kind of faith that enables me to take risks.
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