Free to Fail

2000 William R. Cunningham
January 7, 2001

Introduction

I preach a lot about liberty. I talk about our liberty in Christ and how that liberty affords us the opportunity to be free to do what God wants us to do. Faith in God also presents us with a form of liberty. It presents us with the liberty to fail. We are free to fail because we are free to "do it." Failure is always a possibility since none of us knows the future. Consider the following scripture.

Ecclesiastes 11:6 (NKJV) In the morning sow your seed, And in the evening do not withhold your hand; For you do not know which will prosper, Either this or that, Or whether both alike will be good.

We never know whether our efforts will succeed or not so it is to our benefit to just do it and keep working at it even though failure is a possible outcome.

We are going to use two passages of scriptures to establish the point of this lesson. The first is Matthew 25:24-25 and the second is Philippians 4:13.

Matthew 25:24 through Matthew 25:25 (NKJV) "Then he who had received the one talent came and said, 'Lord, I knew you to be a hard man, reaping where you have not sown, and gathering where you have not scattered seed. And I was afraid, and went and hid your talent in the ground. Look, there you have what is yours.'

These scriptures are two very different statements. The first man was afraid to fail because of the fear he had for his lord and therefore did nothing with what he had. The other was made by a man who was free to fail and did everything. We should also consider the Apostles of the early church who themselves were not afraid to fail. In fact, it appears, from a historical standpoint, that they did not consider any other alternative. They "had" to preach the gospel of Christ so fear wasn't an option. Other examples are Sir Walter Scott, Thomas Edison, Richard Byrd, and Walt Disney who all were considered failures before they went on to their greatest achievements.

The Bible reveals that some of the greatest achievements in the history of God's kingdom have come from very ordinary, imperfect people who have overcome failure to be used of God in a significant way. Even in our modern history we find great people that made a difference that were, in effect, just like you and I. They did what they were convicted in their hearts to do, not fearing the outcome, only striving to fulfill their purpose as they understood it. Their lives model some biblical principles for overcoming failure.

Don't Hide Failures

Some people spend their lives trying to cover-up their mistakes. These people think that they have to be perfect for some reason. We are all guilty in one way or another of trying to give the impression that we are flawless. It's a funny game because the very people we try to impress already know that we aren't perfect.

Prisoners of Pretense

Those that try to hide their mistakes become prisoners of pretense or illusion. They retreat into a life of fabrication and delusion. After a while they might begin to believe the lies that they have told about themselves while trying to give an impression of perfection. Their entire life becomes a charade, a great stage act of hypocrisy. These same people are also afraid of making a mistake or giving the impression that they have erred because of the illusion that they have presented to others and themselves.

How good it would be if we were simply honest with each other and admit when we are wrong or when we have made a mistake.

The Power of Confession

The first step in overcoming our failures is to admit them. We must be willing to honestly confess them before God and seek his forgiveness and restoration (1 John 1:8-9). The power of this is that it frees us from the "obligation of perfection." We have this idea that we should be perfect and that anything that shows otherwise is somehow seen as a defect. However, no one is perfect and we therefore shouldn't give the impression that we are. We free ourselves from the obligation of perfection by confessing our mistakes and failures.

To whom should you confess? This depends on what you will confess. You might think that you should confess your errors, mistakes, or shortcomings to your pastor or elder. However, I submit to you that you should confess first to yourself (a form of admitting your imperfection) and then to God. There are times that merely admitting that you were wrong and made a mistake to yourself and others will suffice. The important thing is that you release yourself from the obligation of perfection so that you don't think that you should be perfect and others know that you are not trying to present yourself as perfect.

The Consequences of the Truth

If you are careful not to present yourself to others as flawless, then other people will not treat you harshly when and if you do err. However, if you present yourself as infallible then you will meet with great animosity, before, during and after a mistake or error. Others will "rub it in" because you were supposed to be perfect and yet you made a mistake. This effect is even more compounded if you were in the habit of judging others harshly and unfairly for the mistakes they have made.

This phenomenon is actually under the principle of reaping and sowing. Consider the following scripture.

Matthew 7:12 (NKJV) Therefore, whatever you want men to do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets.

I believe that this scripture deals more with how to treat others. In other words, if you want to know how to treat someone else then consider how you want to be treated and do that. If we apply this principle to this lesson then we could say that If you are tolerable to people then they will tend to be tolerable to you. So if you present yourself as a normal person that is subject to errors and shortcomings, then others will not be as harsh towards you when you do make a mistake.

So it is best to simply present the truth of the matter, which is that you are not perfect. This shouldn't be considered a license to abandon care. The point is that you should not present yourself as flawless and people will not expect you or hold you to perfection when you do err.

Don't Be Discouraged By Failures

Some people see failures as merely pertaining to a particular situation or attempt while others apply a failure to themselves. For example, one person may consider the failure to obtain a certain amount of sales dollars for his or her new store as merely a setback or a need for more advertisement and the like. However, others may consider the failure to be personal. They think that the failure to make the sales was due to their own personal flaws. The latter is preferred, as we will discuss next.

Remember that everyone fails at one time or anther. We all try to do something that just doesn't work out. We all attempt to accomplish a certain task or goal only to realize that the goal is not reached as we hoped. What do you do now? Do you give up? Don't be discouraged by your failure. Determine why you failed and take action.

Consider the following.

• God took a slave hiding as a fugitive from justice and used him to deliver an entire nation from bondage (Moses).

• He took a woman who failed in marriage seven times and used her to win a city to the Savior (the women at the well-John 4).

• He took a crooked tax collector and made him into an apostle and a biographer of the Christ (Matthew).

• He took a man who failed Christ in his darkest hour, denying Him three times, and used him to open the doors to the kingdom of God (Peter).

God can do the same thing in our lives. God does not easily give up on His children. Like the tireless potter bending over the spoiled clay, He yet desires to make something good and noble of our lives (see Jeremiah 18:1).

Don't Let Fear Stop You

Don't let fear of failure stop you from accomplishing great things in your life and great things for God. Some people are petrified at the thought of failure. They would rather face anything than the ego shattering experience of trying something and having it end in failure. So they adopt a "play-it-safe" philosophy and end up not doing anything at all. Just like the steward in the story of the talents they bury their potential in the ground and end up standing before their Master with little in their hands. It is not until we are free to fail that we are free to succeed.

No one was more free to fail than Jesus. It is impossible to look like a success when you are hanging on a cross. Yet he let it happen. In selfless abandonment to the will of God. He was free to fail in the eyes of man that He might succeed in the eyes of God.

Be Free To Fail

Paul said that he could do all things through Christ Jesus because he gets his strength through Christ. We too can have the same confession. We can be so free in Christ that we will do whatever God tells us to do. We can become so confident in Christ that we wouldn't have any fears in attempting anything.

Inside of you is some type of ability that originates from God. What are you going to do with what God has given you? Will you be like the fearful man with the one talent in the subject scripture? Or will you be like Paul with great confidence in Christ Jesus and do all that you can do? Be free to fail. Go with what you have to accomplish all that God wants of you.

Help Instead of Condemn

I would also like to mention the act of judging others of their failures and shortcomings. It is easy to judge someone for the mistake that he or she made or the shortcoming that he or she displays. We sometimes present ourselves as if we were totally righteous and without any flaws. However, instead of trying to be mister or misses perfect, why don't we simply help and encourage each other. Sure we may have to identify a mistake that someone has made or a shortcoming that someone is displaying (drinking alcohol too much, profanity, or quick to anger for example). However, it is not our responsibility to condemn these people. Instead, we should be honest and offer our hand to help them overcome these things. At the very least, we should not condemn them.

Conclusion

In Christ we are called to be secure enough in God's grace to conquer our fear of failure. We are called to be free enough in our faith to take the risks that bring reward. Don't allow fear of failure stop you from obeying the voice of God. Don't let fear of failure keep you from accomplishing your goals and dreams. Trust God and live your life to the fullest. Trust and rely upon God and be free to fail as you accomplish great and mighty things in your life. Amen.