Redefining Failure

“If you are where God wants you, fulfilling the responsibilities he has given you, you are successful. In fact, when that is the case, you are as successful as you will ever be.1 Success's is remaining faithful to the process God has laid out for you.2”

This paragraph reminds me of a conversation that I had with a friend a few months ago about failure. We were discussing the fact that many people (including both of us) are afraid to take chances. After a while she asked me why I was afraid to take risks. I told her that I was afraid of failure. The truth is that most of us if we were honest would say the same thing. That was when the conversation took an interesting turn. My friend asked me for a definition of failure.

Her question surprised me and I had to think about it for a few moments. How do you define failure? Finally I told her that failure was when things don't turn out the way that we want them to. In other words, If I attempted to teach a class in a way that led to discussion instead of simply lecture and nobody talked, then the class was a failure. This is the definition held to by most people today. If they don't agree with it verbally, their actions and attitude confirms it. Just look at someone who makes plans and things don't turn out perfectly. Most times they become discouraged because the entire situation is viewed as a failure.

But is that the true definition of failure? As our discussion continued I along with my friend came up with a hypothetical situation. Lets say a person is commanded by God to go witness to his friend. He does so in a spirit of love and truth, sharing the Gospel in a way that is pure doctrinally, but also with an attitude of humble love. His friend rejects the Gospel and slams the door in his face. Has the Christian failed? He did everything that God called him to do in the right way. Therefore the answer to the question is no, he did not fail. Instead this christian accomplished God's Will for his life.

Our definition of failure must change. If a person does God's Will in a way that brings glory to God then he has not failed. Do you realize what that means? It means that we can fall flat on our faces and still take confidence in the fact that, if we have completed God's Will, we are not failures. Literally what we are given is a freedom to fail! Now obviously we should not just go out and try to do things poorly. But this new definition of failure can give us the confidence to go out and attempt things that may not work out. Even those things that probably won't work out!

In about two months on October 27 I am going to begin teaching a class on Bible Study Methods using materials from the Bible College where I am currently ministering. It will be taught at a local church on Monday nights at about 7:00. This is something that I wanted to do for months, taking the college classes to the people instead of asking them to come to the college. The only problem is that I don't have any students.

Not only that, but there has been very little interest in the college classes at this time. Yet I feel that God has called me to begin planning as if a large amounts of students will come. So I am creating flyer's and letters promoting the class. Preparing lesson plans and power point presentations to use in the class sessions. Talking to pastors about holding the class at their facilities. I realize there is a high chance that on October 27 there will be no students. All of that work can be for nothing and I will go down in a blaze of glory. But I am willing to take that chance. Because no matter what happens on October 27, I will not be a failure.

Andy Stanley, Visionnering, pg.46, par.1, ln.3
Andy Stanley, Visionnering, pg.46, par.2, ln.1