Get Up Man!

           Failure is a scary place for a man. Men love to win and to a man, most often losing is representative of one thing: FAILURE. After all, it has been said that, “Winning is not everything, it’s the only thing.” I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve heard men quote those words uttered by Vince Lombardi many years ago. I remember as a freshman in high school watching seniors on the varsity basketball team sob in the locker room after a tough loss in the state tournament. On campus, they had a bigger than life persona and seemed somewhat immortal to me as a freshman. They were popular, very talented, and even had their names in the newspaper. But in the locker room that night, they felt like losers as they failed to win it all.

                Failure can be defined as something that falls short of what is required or expected. Students of Scripture immediately hear bells ringing when considering that definition.  Romans 3:23 declares, “For ALL have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;” Tucked away in this gem of a passage we encounter a very necessary reality: EVERYBODY FAILS (Including men). Before we can ever learn how to properly manage failure we must embrace this reality. Failure to do so only intensifies failure.

                There’s a belief held by many pastors that it is too risky to expose their failures to people. Now, I do believe a pastor or Christian leader should maintain a right testimony (1 Timothy 3) however, if they are human, then failure is as much a part of their journey as it is with those they are privileged to lead. As a matter of fact, the great Apostle Paul admitted the following to billions:

             Romans 7:19 For the good that I would I do not: but the evil which I would not, that I do.

1 Timothy 1:15 This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief.

I have a suspicion that the Apostle Paul missed the memo advising pastors not to admit their failures.

                When all is said and done, I do not want to fail. I want to thrive and hit God’s standard each and every time. But Romans 7:19 and 1 Timothy 1:15 speak to my reality. In the seventeen years that I have walked with Jesus Christ, I have had to accept that not only is failure a part of the journey, it is NECESSARY. Though I hate to fail, one of the best things failure does for me is ground me.  Failure brings me face to face with my insufficiency and total inability to meet God’s standard in my flesh. I need this reality.

                Another blessing in failure is that it serves as a safeguard in ministry. Our brightest attributes are usually exposed in ministry. This is especially true for those who serve in a more public capacity. Public gift sets tend to attract compliments, respect, and immediate acceptance. If not careful, one can get inflated. Failure comes along and reinforces a Romans 7:19 and 1 Timothy 1:15 reality! As much as I hate to taste failure, there have been times where I’ve found myself caught up in my own press to only fall very hard days later and be brought back to reality. So I’m thankful for how the Lord uses failure.

                In conclusion, in the journey to becoming the man God would have you to be, failing is as much of the process as succeeding. As a matter of fact, it is through failure that we most often learn how to succeed.  Here’s the key though, embrace the lessons and move on. Too many men fail and instead of learning and moving on, they move into a paralyzing state of failure which leads to more failure and literally years can be wasted. The Bible says it perfectly:

Proverbs 24:16 For a just man falleth seven times, and riseth up again: but the wicked shall fall into mischief.

                I find great encouragement from the life of Peter who clearly has one of the darkest episodes of his life preserved in Scripture for all to see. But what a ministry God had for him after that! Peter fell but rose up again and so can you.

                Get Up Man!