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A Right Spirit and Failure

Failure is a part of life. 

Albert Einstein said, “The person who never made a mistake never tried anything.” 

In life, sometimes we win and sometimes we learn. Every mistake or failure is a chance to grow and learn, and if you understand that then you’ll never lose – you either win or you learn – both of them are worthwhile. 

But if we have the wrong spirit in failure, if we choose to blame and make excuses, and our mistakes becomes everybody else’s fault. And yet, even if a failure is someone else’s fault, I would still take responsibility because usually it means that I have made decisions that put that person in a position where they could cause me to fail. 

The Bible tells us not to go guarantor. “Well yes, but I thought he was a good guy and I believed in him...” But then he defaults on the thing you have guaranteed and you find yourself responsible for it. You can blame and make excuses and yes, perhaps he did the wrong thing but godly wisdom would live by what the Word of God says. Personally, when it comes to loaning things, I believe that if you can’t afford to lose it, you shouldn’t lend it. You are better off to just give and be generous than to put someone in a position where they have power over your failure or your success. 

Live with accountability. 

When I ride a motorbike, I am very aware that there aren’t too many second chances. That means I ride differently. I don’t expect that another driver will give way or do the right thing or that he has seen me. I have to take personal responsibility for my actions, especially when my life is at stake.

I think that is how we need to live our lives. Rather than give others the power over our success or failure, take accountability for your life. If I had an accident on my motorbike, even if someone is technically at fault and would get a ticket from the police, their ticket is not going to help me. It’s the same principle with every area of life. 

If you live with accountability, the worst thing that happens is that you learn from your failures. It’s one thing to make mistakes but it’s quite another when you make the same mistake over and over again because you just won’t learn.  Have a right spirit about mistakes and failure – God exalts the humble at heart.

PRAYER: Dear God, teach me humility. When I stumble, I pray that I would have a right spirit to address my shortcomings, and learn from them. Give me a heart towards accountability and teach me about holiness.