What Failure Can Teach

This country has learned some of its greatest lessons through failure and struggle.

‚          Why is it that we look back at the leanest, cruelest years of the Great Depression and see in them the time of greatest strength in our communities and families?

‚          Why is it that we recall our single greatest naval defeat, the attack on Pearl Harbor, and see exhibited in it the greatest spirit and loyalty of this nation?

‚          Why is it that we remember the darkest, most evil years of legalized segregation, discrimination and Jim Crow and see in them the greatest demonstrations of love, commitment, bravery and selflessness among the Civil Rights workers?

‚          Why is it that we made a movie to re-live the tension and the helplessness of watching a crippled Apollo 13 hobble slowly back to Earth, and see in it the prayers and the hopes of the whole country?

            Some people want to suggest that some failures are in our DNA. If so, we could do nothing about them. Fortunately, we do not have to repeat the failures of our past.

            To refer to a sports analogy, Tom Landry, Chuck Noll and Bill Walsh accounted for nine of the 15 Super Bowl victories from 1974 to 1989.  What else do they have in common?  They also boasted the worst records of first-season head coaches in NFL history.

            Here is a bit of wisdom from Theodore Roosevelt:

"Far better it is to dare mighty things, to win glorious triumphs even though checkered by failure, than to rank with those poor spirits who neither enjoy nor suffer much because they live in the gray twilight that knows neither victory nor defeat."

            Cardinal Newman, in the last year of his life, wrote in his journal, "Fear not that thy life shall come to an end, but rather fear that it shall never have a beginning."

            I came across the following advice when it comes to failure. 1) Get back on your feet.  Mike Singletary of the Chicago Bears, a linebacker, had the knack of making the tackle even when someone initially blocked him out of the play.  The way he did it was by getting up quickly after someone knocked him down the first time.  2) Take a break.  Most defeats are not earth-shattering.  Reduce tension by doing something fun for a while.  3) Find a friend to whom you can talk.  When you feel discouraged, keep in mind that God is still sovereign and people will do what they want to do. 

            Christians can learn to forgive themselves and others, and even the nation in which they live. They do not have to be afraid to lead "error embracing" lives.  We have to know when it is time to blow the dust off (read Mark 6:11), roll up our sleeves and start working; and when it is time to shake the dust off, redirect our energies and go on our way.