Brian, a classmate, had graduated from the Bible College and was in his third and final year of a Master’s Degree. We took an advanced preaching class together. As the time approached for him to deliver his exam sermon, he grew increasingly apprehensive. He shared that in the past seven years of Bible training he had never once preached. Despite the fact, multiple churches had asked, he refused. He feared he wasn’t yet qualified and afraid he would fail. He did an excellent job with his classroom sermon. It was obvious God had given him the ability to preach.
Fear of failure paralyzes untold numbers of Christians who have gifts and talents from God. After looking at examples throughout the Bible, it is safe to conclude the Lord is disturbed more at believers doing nothing than those who try but fail. The parable of the talents makes it clear about God’s view of doing nothing. The servant who received one talent but out of fear buried it, in other words did nothing, was severely condemned. His master replied, ‘You wicked, lazy servant! . . . And throw that worthless servant outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth’ (Matt 25: 26, 30). His master characterized him as wicked, lazy, and worthless. Of course, Jesus is describing how the Father sees someone who does nothing with what He has given them.
A standard question an employer asks an applicant, “How did you handle your biggest failure at work?” Some interviewers say if the candidate responds that they had never failed, the interview was over. One company’s president has a policy that they would not hire anyone who had never failed. He believed like Albert Einstein, “Anyone who has never made a mistake has never tried anything new.” Nonetheless, parents and teachers tend to instill the fear of failure in children. I have counseled parents throughout my ministry who were concerned because their child made ‘C’s instead an ‘A’s. They felt ‘C’s were less than best or a failure. I tried reassuring them that ‘C’ was average and 68% of the population falls into this category with only 16% high performers making ‘A’s.
Failure is a normal occurrence in fallen humanity. Ask yourself how many times your child failed before he/she learned to walk. The key to any success, like a baby learning how to walk, is getting back up and trying again until it masters the skill of walking. If the child quit after one failure, it would become an adult lying in a crib.
Scripture constantly states that we fail. For we all stumble in many ways (Jas 3:2). “Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall” (Isaiah 40:30). Except for Jesus, every major Bible character failed at some point in life. Scripture also tells us what to do when we fail. For a righteous man falls seven times, and rises again (Pro 24:16). The first step toward success is accepting the reality of failure and understanding that failure is not the end; rather it is an opportunity for learning. When we do fail, ask God for forgiveness, accept His forgiveness, and ask for His help. Don’t self-impose a veil and hide from God. We tend to think God is angry and doesn’t want to see us. The opposite is true. We may mentally hide from God, but He is right there holding out His hand saying, “Let me help you up.” Remember Jesus has already paid the penalty and received God’s wrath.
Church growth studies show that only 20% of the people do all the work and ministry. That leaves 80% who do nothing. They are spectators and not participants. Several reasons contribute to this high percentage of those who bury their gifts and abilities. Fear of failure tops the list. Anytime we attempt something new, we also take the risk of failure. A friend once suggested I write a book on how to plant a new church. I responded I was far more qualified to write on how not to plant a church, and it would require a volume of books. Many of my sermons and lessons were such disasters I looked for an exit where I could crawl out unseen. Instead, the Holy Spirit helped me embrace my failure and learn how to do better the next time. Most often, our fear of failure comes from pride, public opinion, and low self-esteem. The master of the one talent servant adds lazy. It is far easier to sit and do nothing because using your gifts and talents requires energy. It requires us to leave our comfort zone and take a risk. A quote from the hockey player Wayne Gretzky provides a good summary statement. “You’ll always miss 100% of the shots you don’t take.”
James warns us, Remember, it is sin to know what you ought to do and then not do it. (Jam 4:17 NLT). If you try and you fail, This is what the Lord says: You know if a man falls down, he gets up again. And if a man goes the wrong way, he turns around and comes back (Jeremiah 8:4).
Sustaining Word for the Week: The one talent servant at any time could have dug up the master’s talent and invested it. If you have buried something God gave you, dig it up this week. If you fail, get up and try again.