聖經中的失敗與失望Failureand Disappointment in Scripture
作者: David Murray
譯者: Maria Marta
假如我們組織一次關於「失敗與失望」的會議，你認為會有人參加嗎？假如你寫一本有關「失敗與失望」的書，你認為會有人買嗎？ 失敗與失望是不受歡迎的話題。它們不具票房效果，書籍也不具經濟效益。互聯網營銷員向我們保證，它們不會產生點擊量。我們根本不願思考自己的失敗和失望，更別提去聽別人的失望與失望。 我們生活在一個崇拜勝利與成就的「成功文化」當中。（一開始時提到的）這一切都太不現實了。
當我們求助於聖經，會得到一個深刻的體會。聖經幾乎每一頁都有失敗與失望的記載。 無論我們喜歡與否，與我們所渴望和努力為自己纂寫的成功故事相比，失敗與失望要真實得多。無論如何，人要有遠大目標，但也得承認沒有人能逃脫失敗與失望的厄運。因此，我們不妨積極準備, 做好失敗的打算，目的是從中獲益。
「從失敗與失望中獲益？你是認真的嗎？」是的，就像許多上帝子民一樣，我發現失敗與失望的季節是我生命中產生最大屬靈收獲的時機。
積極準備、做好失敗與失望的打算、從中獲益------在這些方面求助於聖經之前，我們首先需要一些定義。 失敗是做某事不成功。達不到我們為自己或其他人為我們設定的成效標準。我們可能要對此事負責任，並應為此事受到責備（例如，我們考試不及格，因為我們沒有好好學習），或其他一些人應受到責備（例如，我們的婚姻失敗，可能因為我們的妻子或丈夫犯姦淫）。有時候，我們並沒有失敗，但卻有一種失敗感（例如，因公司合併或重組而失去工作）。失望是因失敗而產生的悲傷與沮喪感，要麽是我們自己失敗，要麽是別人失敗，或者兩者兼而有之。那麽，掌握這些定義之後，讓我們來查看關於失敗和失望，聖經對我們有何教導？
失敗是不可避免的
假如我們的學校真想讓我們的孩子為人生做好準備，他們會提供關於失敗與失望的課程。在我們孩子的成年生活中，他們也許永遠不需要知道代數或化學知識，但他們必須要知道如何處理失敗和失望。打開聖經，不管翻到哪一頁，我們都會找到與失敗和失望的相關記載：亞當和夏娃（創三）、該隱和亞伯（創四）、挪亞和他的兒子們（創九）、亞伯拉罕和撒拉（創世記十六）、羅得和他的女兒們（創十九）、雅各和以掃（創廿七）、約瑟和他的兄弟們（創卅七）、拿答和亞比戶（利十）、亞倫和米裏亞姆（民十二）、以色列和迦南（民十四）、摩西和磐石（民廿）、參孫和大利拉（士十六）、撒母耳和他的兒子們（撒上八）、大衛和拔示巴（撒下十一）、所羅門和他的後宮妃嬪（王下十一）。這些記載從不間段，就在新約，我們從一個接一個的門徒身上，從一間接一間的教會當中，又找到了失敗與失望的痕跡。聖經的一致信息是：失敗與失望是人類不可避免的一部分經歷。想像一下，一場反映聖經這種強調的畢業典禮或畢業典禮的演講，能讓我們的孩子為人生做好準備，特別在管理他們的期望方面，會有多好啊。
失敗是變化的
當我們審視聖經的記載，我們對失敗的變化性與多樣性感到震撼。失敗總以這種或那種方式抓住我們。靈性和道德上的失敗是最常見的，未能遵守上帝十條簡單易懂的誡命的例子多不勝數。 舉例來說，以色列未能唯獨敬拜上帝（賽二8）; 亞倫因鑄造並敬拜雕像而失敗（出卅二4）; 烏撒未能敬畏上帝（撒下六7）; 以色列未能守安息日為聖日（出十六27-30）; 以利未能管教好他的兒子們，他的兒子們也未能孝敬他們的父親（撒上二22-25）; 大衛未能尊重生命與婚姻的神聖（撒下十一1-21）; 亞幹因偷竊財寶而失敗（書七1）; 亞拿尼亞和撒非拉因向聖靈撒謊而失敗（徒五3）; 而底馬因貪愛現今世界的財富而失敗（提後4:10）。 十條誡命，十次失敗。
亞伯拉罕和撒拉對夏甲的處理（創十六21），和雅各與以掃的嫉妒競爭（創廿五29-34）都顯露了家庭的失敗。從耶穌背叛者的欺騙性問候與親吻（太廿六49），和使徒保羅和巴拿巴在使用馬可的問題上引起分岐的後果中（徒十五36-41），可看到友誼的失敗。在以色列和猶大列王身上，領導的失敗更是顯而易見（例如，歷下十二14; 廿二9-10）。在幾乎所有的新約教會都能找到教會失敗的事實，正如保羅寫給教會的許多書信的失望語氣（例如林前一11-13; 加一6），和基督寫給七間教會的其中五封信（啟二至三）所證明的。金錢上的失敗發生在基哈西（王下五22-27）、領了六千個銀幣的僕人（太廿五24-30）、野心勃勃的穀倉倉主（路十二16-21）等人身上。國家和政治上的失敗在以色列反復叛逆上帝的歷史中特別清晰可見。聖經甚至為我們提供沒有穿著婚筵禮服的赴筵者這樣的社交失敗的記載（太廿二11-13）。失敗者穿著許多不同的服裝。
失敗緊隨成功而來
這些失敗與失望的不同經歷給我們的教訓之一是，我們最成功的時候，就是我們最脆弱的時候。成功孕育自信，常常變異成過度自信，往往也預示著災難（箴十六18）。看看參孫、大衛、所羅門等人的經歷，它們是舊約在這方面的慘痛例證。新約突出彼得是這方面的例子（太廿六33-35, 69-75）。他是耶穌核心圈子的成員，他能傳講關於上帝的偉大事情，他也被主大大使用，他對自己面對考驗的能力高度自信。但他卻三次失敗，兩次在一個十幾歲的女僕面前；一次在陌生人面前否認基督。縱貫歷史，聖經關於驕傲危險的論述被證實是正確的，甚至直到今天，強大的成功人士每天都被他們以前打壓和利用過的軟弱無助的受害者擊敗。
失敗可以重演
有許多關於失敗的老生常談的說法，包括「失敗是最好的老師」和「學會在失敗中前進」。感恩的是，如我們稍後會看到的，許多人確實吸取他們失敗的教訓，許多人在失敗之後確實取得進步。但這並非偶然的。正如聖經警告我們，失敗可以重演。例如，亞伯拉罕在下埃及時，未能在照顧撒拉的事上信靠上帝。他終於向一位異教徒國王撒謊，隱瞞他與撒拉的關系，最後被國王發現並責備他(創十二10-20)。但這並沒有阻止他再做幾乎一樣的事情（創廿）。你可能會認為，當雅各回顧他自己家人的痛苦經歷時，他學到一個關於偏袒的痛苦教訓。然而，他卻做了同樣的事，過度寵愛他的兒子約瑟（七卅3-4）。即使耶穌的門徒，雖然他們受益於祂持續和出於關懷的譴責，但卻屢次不明白基督到底是誰，和祂來做什麼（太十六21-23; 路十八34; 24：25-27） ）。有時從一個極端走向另一個極端，只會加倍失敗，如哥林多教會所作的那樣。首先，他們未能管教一個不悔改的兄弟（林前五），其後他們未能接納他悔改回轉（哥林多後書二5-11）。失敗不是完美的老師，部分原因是因為我們不是完美的學生。
失敗是痛苦的
聖經所有的失敗例子都顯示痛苦失望按著它的路線發展：對自己失望，對別人失望，甚至對上帝失望。聖經中有三個失敗是特別痛苦難受的。 第一個是摩西因不能進入應許之地而感到刺痛般的失望，因為他擊打磐石，而非按照上帝的指示，吩咐磐石（民廿10-13）。 想像一下，你完成所有的工作，承受一切的壓力，經歷徘徊曠野四十年的各種遭遇，忍受以色列人的一切抱怨和牢騷，然後，因為一次發脾氣，就被停在你最終目的地的邊界。摩西懇求耶和華，緩解他的失望，讓他進入那地。但是上帝拒絕了，只安慰他，讓他從遠處看到那地（申三23-27）。 想像一下摩西的失望。
聖經中第二個極度痛苦的失敗發生在大衛王身上，他在道德上失敗了，因為他與拔示巴通奸，殺害她的丈夫烏裏亞（撒下十一）。正如詩篇卅二篇和五十一篇所表露的，大衛對自己的痛苦失望不僅是精神上和情感上的，而且也是身體上的。即使他得到赦免，他的余生也要承受他失敗的後果：他家庭的瓦解和暫時失去他的王位。巨大的動亂緊隨他的失敗爆發。
第三個是彼得的失敗，他因三次否認基督而失敗。耶穌再三警告彼得當心他的過度自信，警告他將三次否認主，但他仍然這樣做了。雞叫之後，基督的眼睛與彼得的眼睛相遇，「他就出去痛哭」(路廿二62)。想象一下，在接下來的幾天裏，彼得在回想這三重失敗時，是何等的痛苦。彼得、摩西、大衛必定希望他們從未失敗過。 油管視頻的失敗可能會讓我們發笑; 聖經英雄的失敗讓我們哭泣。
應該分享失敗的經歷
接連不斷的成功故事帶來的問題之一是，我們今天被「成功為每一個人準備，所有人都將取得成功」這種信息餵養。結果是，沒有人為「成功從不到訪，失敗反復敲門」做好準備。 意識到這種不平衡，普林斯頓大學的強尼斯‧豪斯佛（Johannes Haushofer）在推特上公開一張自己失敗的履歷表。 他這樣做「以求平衡記錄，並鼓勵其他人在面對失望時繼續努力。」他說，「我所作的大部分努力都是失敗的，成功是可見的，但失敗紀錄往往是隱形的。我注意到，這有時給人的印象是大多數事情我都能解決。」
聖經公布了幾乎所有人物的失敗履歷。其中一些甚至是他們自己公開的。 例如，詩人不僅承認他們的失敗，而且還唱歌失敗 -----當然不是為了慶祝，而是為了悲嘆，並尋求上帝幫助他們。他們對自己的人生，對人生有如此多的不如意坦誠磊落。例如，在詩篇七十三篇和七十八篇，亞薩承認他是何等的失敗，而惡人卻取得成功，這讓他失去信心。他將一切都擺在桌上，實際上在說，「對失敗我處理不當。」 然後上帝介入，提醒他祂的應許和目的，而亞薩夫開始恢復他靈性的平靜與平衡。對這些失敗的歌曲，我們是何等的感恩，它們使我們獲得認同感，提醒我們我們並不孤單，幫助我們接受接受異常現象為正常，指導我們將失敗帶到上帝面前，並與其他人分享。
約伯是另一個分享失敗的例子。 他是一個無可指責的人（伯一1）。 然而，當極端苦難降臨，他最終將矛頭指向上帝。是的，他最初的立場堅定（第20-22節）。是的，面對至高的靈性試煉，曾取得一些至高的屬靈成就（十九23--27; 廿三8-10）。 但這不是故事的全部，甚至不是故事的大部分。他的書中也有很多例子，當他對他的朋友，甚至對上帝和上帝的護理表示失望時，他的回答遠遠不夠完美。約伯的誠實記錄和他起落的經歷再一次讓我們深受鼓舞(盡管傳道人和作家經常忽略前者)。
分享這些人的失敗故事，能鼓勵我們誠實、開放地面對自己的人生。 讓我們放棄世界告訴我們的成功故事，藉著與信徒分享我們人生的坎坷不平，書寫和遵循聖經那些堅韌不拔的真實榜樣，這和面書上的個人資料有多麽的不同。
失敗防止更糟糕的失敗發生
回顧過去的人生，我注意到一件事，那就是失敗防止更糟糕的失敗發生，失敗不僅教導我，而且也教導別人。 我們也在聖經中看到這一點。倘若新約教會不是在許多方面失敗，我們就不會有聖經裏寫給她們寫信-------我們可以從中學習，並採取措施避免或緩解類似的失敗。有多少教會因著寫給失敗的哥林多人的信而受到阻止，免於陷入靈恩運動的亂象? 有多少教會因寫給失敗的加拉太人的信，而避免與唯獨因信稱義的教義妥協? 有多少教會因保羅寫給失敗的帖撒羅尼迦人的信，而從對末世時代的狂熱中解救出來? 有多少教會因基督在啟示錄寫給失敗的以弗所人的信，而重拾起初的愛心？ 有多少基督徒因彼得的失敗而避免過度自信？
今天環顧我們四周，可以聽到從遭破壞的教會，和未能在教義和道德純潔上站穩的牧師中發出的警報聲。 我們甚至不需要看我們自己生命以外的警告信標。 幾年前因過度勞累和壓力，我的健康狀況每況愈下。 我兩度因致命的疾病趟在醫院奄奄一息。 然而，回顧過去，我能看到上帝使用我惡化的健康來防止可能發生的靈性上的失敗。 從這個意義上說，失敗可能是一件珍貴的禮物。甚至，上帝使我們的失敗為我們的益處一同效力（羅八28）。
從許多方面來說，何時、何地、如何失敗不是問題。我們將如何處理我們的失敗才是最大的問題。正如我們所看到的，許多失敗不僅僅是要吸取的教訓，更是要承認的罪。我們不僅要牢記，從中受教育，而且我們也必須將它們帶到上帝面前，使我們得赦免。這樣做是困難的，但也是我們從中得解脫的途徑。認罪使我們免於罪咎和羞恥，確保我們得赦免、得接納（箴廿八13）。我們不否認、減少、掩蔽、回避我們的失敗，反而將它們帶到日光底下，上帝的面光之前，坦誠地談論它們，承認所有犯下的罪，並祈求祂賜下憐憫。無論我們的失敗多麽的嚴重，多麽的頻繁，多麽的愚蠢，倘若我們在上帝面前承認我們的失敗，我們都會得蒙赦免（約壹一9）。你可以將你生活每一個方面的失敗帶給祂，祂會使你潔白如雪。倘若可以更換一首深受喜愛的聖誕頌，我提議這首福音歌「齊來吧，所有失敗」。
不僅如此，基督也賜給我們祂的完美。 那就對了; 祂不僅僅除去我們的消極地位，讓我們處於中立。 祂也賜給我們祂的義，使我們處於積極地位（林後五21）。 基督的完美歸於我們，並視為我們的完美（羅三21-26）。 無論過去發生了什麼，未來將發生什麼，當上帝將我們視為審判者，祂看到的不是失敗，而是成功；不是缺陷，而是完美；不是不義，而是義；不是定罪的理由，而是慶祝的理由 (八1）。憑著基督裏的信心，我們就能以失敗換取祂的成就。20.
失敗不能定義我們
這樣的結果並不是說我們絕不會再失敗。 不，乃是說失敗不再定義我們。 我們的上帝和救主不以祂子民的失敗，而是以他們的信心來定義他們。 看看舊約聖徒的所有失敗，然後再看上帝在希伯來書第十一章是如何定義他們的。希伯來書第十一章不是失敗者的巨廊，而是信心偉人的巨廊。上帝不記得他們的失敗，反而因他們唯獨在基督裏的信心慶祝他們的成功。 失敗仍然是我們的身份的一部分，但不再是主要部分。 它仍然是我們生活的一部分，但卻非決定性的，它不是最後一個詞，當然也不是第一個詞。 當上帝看祂的子民，祂首先看到的不是失敗，因此當我們看自己或其他基督徒，我們首先看到的也不應是失敗。 我們在基督裡得稱為義。 這是我們主要的身份。 這是上帝首先看到的，也是我們應該首先看到的。
失敗拉近我們與天堂的距離
只要我們仍活在世上，我們就會一次又一次的失敗，不管我們承認自己有多麽的失敗，我們的失敗都會被寬恕，並且我們的失敗與基督的義交換。失敗使我們保持謙卑，使我們繼續依靠、仰望基督。 更最重要的是，它使我們盼望天堂，一個絕對不知道失敗的地方。 我們在天堂會記起那些失敗嗎？ 是的，但不再有任何痛苦，只有基督寬恕的遮蓋，和我們讚美的音量在提高：「他愛我們，用自己的血把我們從我們的罪中釋放出來，又使我們成為國度，作他父 神的祭司。願榮耀權能都歸給他，直到永永遠遠。阿們。」（啟一6；《聖經新譯本》）
我們也將從一個全新的角度來看待我們的失敗，不僅僅是我們道德方面和靈性方面的失敗，而且也是我們關系方面和職業方面的失望。在容許關系破裂、面對災難、失去工作、考試不及格發生的過程中，我們將看到上帝智慧的護理。當上帝把祂智慧主權的金框架放在我們失敗的周圍，重新構造它們時，它們就會從醜陋抽象的隨機性轉變成優美精巧的設計。
在那裏我們會經歷任何失敗嗎？不，決不會的。我們不會失敗，其他任何人也不會失敗。 失望的淚水將成為我們要被抹去的一切眼淚的一部分（啟廿一4）。 天堂將是一個偉大而長遠的成功故事：道德方面的成功、靈性方面的成功、智力方面的成功、身體方面的成功、關系方面的成功、職業方面的成功、教會方面的成功。
所以，是的，我們現在的失敗不但將我們帶到基督面前，而且也會讓我們渴望天堂，加快那一天的到來：失敗的痛苦和失望的折磨將永遠消逝。
本文原刊于Tabletalk雜誌2018年五月號 。
Dr.
David P. Murray is professor of Old Testament and practical theology at Puritan
Reformed Theological Seminary in Grand Rapids, Mich., and pastor of Grand
Rapids Reformed Church. He is author of Exploring the Bible: A Bible Reading
Plan for Kids.
Failure and Disappointment in
Scripture
by
David Murray
f we
organized a conference on “Failure and Disappointment,” do you think anyone
would come? If you wrote a book on that subject, do you think anyone would buy
it? Failure and disappointment are not popular topics. They don’t sell tickets
or books. They don’t generate clicks, as Internet marketers assure us. We don’t
want to think about our own failures and disappointments, never mind hear about
those of others. We live in a “success culture” that idolizes victory and
fulfillment. But it’s all so unreal.
When
we turn to the Bible, we’re given a deep dose of reality. Failure and
disappointment are on just about every page. Whether we like it or not, that’s
much truer to life than the success narratives that we aspire to and are trying
to write for ourselves. By all means, aim high, but recognize that no one
escapes failure and disappointment. So, we might as well plan on it and prepare
for it with a view to profiting from it.
“Profiting
from failure and disappointment? Are you serious?” Yes, like many of God’s
people, I’ve found seasons of failure and disappointment to be some of the most
spiritually productive times of my life.
Before
we turn to the Bible to help us plan on, prepare for, and profit from failure
and disappointment, we first need some definitions. Failure is a lack of
success in doing something. It’s coming short of a performance standard that we
have set for ourselves or that others have set for us. It may be something that
we are accountable for and blamed for (e.g., we fail an exam because we did not
study enough), or someone else may be to blame (e.g., our marriage may fail
because our wife or husband committed adultery). And sometimes we can have a
sense of failure when we have not actually failed (e.g., we lose our job
because of a merger or reorganization). Disappointment is the sense of sadness
and frustration that results from failure, either from our own failure, the
failure of others, or both. So, with these definitions in hand, what does the
Bible teach us about failure and disappointment?
FAILURE
IS INEVITABLE
If
our schools really wanted to prepare our children for life, they would offer
classes in failure and disappointment. Our kids may never need to know algebra
or chemistry in their adult lives, but they will definitely need to know how to
handle failure and disappointment. No matter where we open our Bibles, we find
failure and disappointment: Adam and Eve (Gen. 3), Cain and Abel (Gen. 4), Noah
and his sons (Gen. 9), Abraham and Sarah (Gen. 16), Lot and his daughters (Gen.
19), Jacob and Esau (Gen. 27), Joseph and his brothers (Gen. 37), Nadab and
Abihu (Lev. 10), Aaron and Miriam (Num. 12), Israel and Canaan (Num. 14), Moses
and the rock (Num. 20), Samson and Delilah (Judg. 16), Samuel and his sons (1
Sam. 8), David and Bathsheba (2 Sam. 11), Solomon and his harem (1 Kings 11).
And on and on it goes, right into the New Testament, where we find disciple
after disciple and church after church marked by failure and disappointment.
The Bible’s uniform message is that failure and disappointment are an
inevitable part of the human experience. Imagine a graduation or commencement
address that reflected this biblical emphasis. How much better it would prepare
our children for life, especially in the area of managing their expectations.
No
one escapes failure and disappointment. So, we might as well plan on it and
prepare for it with a view to profiting from it.
SHARE
FAILURE
IS VARIED
As we
survey the biblical record, we are struck by the variety and diversity of
failure. If it doesn’t get us one way, it will get us another. Spiritual and
moral failures are the most common, with multiple examples of failure to obey
God’s ten straightforward commands. For example, Israel failed to worship God
alone (Isa. 2:8); Aaron failed by making a carved image to worship (Ex. 32:4);
Uzzah failed to reverence God (2 Sam. 6:7); Israel failed to keep the Sabbath
holy (Ex. 16:27–30); Eli failed to discipline his sons and his sons failed to
honor their father (1 Sam. 2:22–25); David failed to respect the sanctity of
life and of marriage (2 Sam. 11:1–21); Achan failed by stealing gold (Josh.
7:1); Ananias and Sapphira failed by lying to the Holy Spirit (Acts 5:3); and
Demas failed by coveting this world’s riches (2 Tim. 4:10). Ten Commandments,
ten failures.
Family
failures are demonstrated in Abraham and Sarah’s treatment of Hagar (Gen. 16;
21) and in Jacob and Esau’s jealous rivalry (Gen. 25:29–34). Friendship
failures are seen in the deceitful greeting and kiss of Jesus’ betrayer (Matt.
26:49) and in the fallout between the Apostle Paul and Barnabas over Mark’s
usefulness (Acts 15:36–41). Leadership failures are evident in every king of
Israel and Judah (e.g., 2 Chron. 12:14; 22:9–10). Ecclesiastical failures are
found in almost every New Testament church, as evidenced in the disappointed
tone found in many of Paul’s letters to them (e.g., 1 Cor. 1:11–13; Gal. 1:6)
and in five of Christ’s letters to the seven churches (Rev. 2–3). Financial
failures play out in the lives of Gehazi (2 Kings 5:22–27), the one-talent man
(Matt. 25:24–30), and the ambitious barn-builder (Luke 12:16–21). National and
political failures are especially vivid in Israel’s history of repeated
rebellion against God. The Bible even supplies us with a social failure in the
underdressed wedding guest (Matt. 22:11–13). Failure wears so many different
outfits.
FAILURE
CAN FOLLOW GREAT SUCCESS
One
of the lessons these varied experiences of failure and disappointment teach us
is that we are most vulnerable when we are most successful. Success breeds
confidence, which often mutates into overconfidence, which usually presages
disaster (Prov. 16:18). See Samson, David, and Solomon for painful proofs of
this in the Old Testament. The New Testament highlights Peter as an example of
this (Matt. 26:33–35, 69–75). He was in Jesus’ inner circle, he was speaking
great things about God, he was being greatly used by the Lord, and he was
hyper-confident in his ability to be strong in the face of testing. But he
failed three times, twice denying that he knew Christ before a teenage female
servant and once before strangers. The Bible’s narrative about the danger of
hubris has proven true throughout history, and even up to the present day, as
powerful and successful men are being brought down daily by the weak and
helpless victims they previously oppressed and exploited.
FAILURE
CAN BE REPEATED
There
are many trite and facile sayings about failure, including “Failure is the best
teacher” and “Learn to fail forward.” Thankfully, as we’ll see later, many
people do learn from their failures and many individuals do make forward
progress after failing. But it’s not inevitable. As the Bible warns us, failure
can be repeated. For example, Abraham failed to trust God to look after Sarah
when he went down to Egypt. He ended up telling lies about his relationship
with her to a heathen king who eventually found out and rebuked him for it
(Gen. 12:10–20). But it didn’t stop him from doing almost exactly the same
thing again (Gen. 20). You’d have thought that Jacob would have learned a
painful lesson about favoritism when he looked back on his own family’s bitter
experience. And yet, he did the same thing by showing excessive favor to his
son Joseph (37:3–4). Even the disciples of Jesus, though they had the benefit
of His constant and caring rebukes, repeatedly failed to grasp who Christ was
and what He came to do (Matt. 16:21–23; Luke 18:34; 24:25–27). Sometimes
failure can be doubled by going from one extreme to another as the Corinthian
church did. First they failed to discipline an unrepentant brother (1 Cor. 5),
and then they failed to welcome him back upon his repentance (2 Cor. 2:5–11).
Failure is not a perfect teacher, partly because we are not perfect students.
FAILURE
IS PAINFUL
All
the biblical examples of failure reveal the painful disappointment that follows
in its path: disappointment with self, disappointment with others, and even
disappointment with God. But there are three biblical failures that are
especially agonizing. First, there is the stinging disappointment of Moses in
not getting into the Promised Land when he hit a rock instead of following
God’s instructions to talk to it (Num. 20:10–13). Imagine all the work, all the
stress, all those forty years of wandering through the wilderness, all the
complaints and grumblings of Israel, and then, for one loss of temper, being
stopped on the border of your ultimate destination. Moses pleaded with the Lord
to ease his disappointment and let him enter the land. But God refused and
instead gave him the consolation of seeing it from a distance (Deut. 3:23–27).
Imagine Moses’ disappointment.
The
second particularly agonizing biblical failure is King David, who failed
morally by committing adultery with Bathsheba and killing her husband, Uriah (2
Sam. 11). As Psalms 32 and 51 reveal, David’s painful disappointment in himself
was not only mental, spiritual, and emotional, but also physical. Even after he
was forgiven, the consequences of his failures throbbed throughout the rest of
his life in the disintegration of his family and the temporary loss of his
throne. Such great convulsions followed his failures.
The
third failure is Peter, who failed by denying Christ three times. Here was a
man whom Jesus warned again and again about his overconfidence, whom Jesus
warned that he would deny Him three times, and who still went on to do so. Then
the rooster crowed, Christ’s eyes met with Peter’s, “and he went out and wept
bitterly” (Luke 22:62). Imagine how much pain must have filled the next couple
of days as Peter reflected on this triple failure. How many times Peter, Moses,
and David must have wished that they had never failed. YouTube failures may
make us laugh; the failures of biblical heroes make us cry.
FAILURE
SHOULD BE SHARED
One
of the problems with the constant success narratives that we are fed today is
the message that success is for everyone and everyone will be a success. The
result is that no one is prepared when success never visits and when failure
knocks at their door repeatedly. Conscious of this imbalance, Johannes
Haushofer of Princeton University published a résumé listing his career
failures on Twitter. He did this “in an attempt to balance the record and
encourage others to keep trying in the face of disappointment.” “Most of what I
try fails,” he said, “but these failures are often invisible, while the
successes are visible. I have noticed that this sometimes gives others the
impression that most things work out for me.”
The
Bible publishes résumés of failure for just about all the characters in it.
Some of them even publish their own. The psalmists, for example, not only
confess their failures but sing about them—not to celebrate them, of course,
but to grieve over them and to seek God’s help with them. They are brutally
honest about their lives and about how so much of life just doesn’t work out
well. In Psalms 73 and 78, for example, Asaph confesses how he fails while the
wicked succeed, resulting in a failure in his faith. He puts it all on the
table and says, in effect, “I’m not handling this well.” God then steps in to
remind him of His promises and purposes, and Asaph begins to recover his
spiritual poise and equilibrium. How thankful we should be for these songs of
failure that we can identify with, reminding us that we are not alone, helping
us to accept that the abnormal is normal, and guiding us to bring our failures
before God as well as share them with others.
Job
is another example of a shared failure. He was a blameless man (Job 1:1). Yet
when extreme suffering came, he ended up blaming God at points. Yes, he stood
firm initially (vv. 20–22), and yes, there were moments of supreme spiritual
success in the face of supreme spiritual testing (19:23-–27; 23:8–10). But
that’s not the whole story, and not even the majority of the story. His book
also includes many instances when his response was far from perfect, as he
expressed disappointment with his friends and even with God and His providence.
Again, we are encouraged by the honest recording of Job’s downs as well as his
ups (though preachers and writers often ignore the former).
The
sharing of these men’s narratives of failure encourages us to be honest and
open about our own lives. Let’s abandon the success narratives the world tells
us to write and follow the biblical example of gritty authenticity by sharing
with fellow believers the downs as well as the ups in our lives. How different
this would be from so many Facebook profiles.
FAILURE
PREVENTS WORSE FAILURE
One
thing I’ve noticed in my own life as I look back is that my failures have
prevented worse failures, not only by teaching me through them, but also by
teaching others. We see that also in the Bible. If the New Testament churches
had not failed so badly in so many areas, we wouldn’t have letters to them in
our Bibles that we can learn from and take steps to avoid or redress similar
failures. How many churches have been prevented from falling into charismatic
chaos by the letters to the failing Corinthians? How many churches have been
kept from compromising on the doctrine of justification by faith alone by the
letter to the failing Galatians? How many churches have been rescued from
end-time mania by Paul’s letters to the failing Thessalonians? How many
churches have returned to their first love through Christ’s letter in
Revelation to the failing Ephesians? How many Christians have been kept from
overconfidence by the failures of Peter?
We
can look around us today and hear the sirens blaring from the wreckage of
churches and pastors who failed to stand fast for doctrinal and moral purity.
We don’t even need to look beyond our own lives for warning beacons. My health
failed several years ago as a result of overwork and stress. I ended up in the
hospital twice with life-threatening illnesses. However, looking back, I can
see that God may have used my health failures to prevent a possible spiritual
failure. In that sense, failure can be a precious gift. God works even our
failures together for our good (Rom. 8:28).
FAILURE
CAN BE FORGIVEN
In
many ways, the question is not when, where, and how we will fail. The biggest
question is what we will do with our failures. As we’ve seen, many failures are
not just lessons to be learned but sins to be confessed. We must not only bring
them before our minds and be educated by them; we must bring them before God to
be forgiven for them. That’s difficult, but also delivering. Confession frees
us from guilt and shame and assures us of pardon and acceptance (Prov. 28:13).
Instead of denying, minimizing, covering, or avoiding our failures, we bring
them to the light of day and the light of God, and we honestly talk about them
before Him with admission of any culpability and with prayer for His mercy. No
matter how badly, how frequently, or how foolishly we’ve failed, if we confess
our failures before God, we will find mercy (1 John 1:9). You can bring Him
failures from every area of your life and He will make you white as snow. If I
may suggest a change to a much-loved Christmas carol, the gospel song is “O
Come, All Ye Failures.”
Not
only that, but Christ also gives us His perfection. That’s right; He doesn’t
just take away our negatives and leave us in a neutral position. He gives us
His righteousness and leaves us in a positive position (2 Cor. 5:21). Christ’s
perfection is credited to us and regarded as ours (Rom. 3:21–26). No matter
what has happened in our past or what will happen in our future, when God looks
at us as Judge, He sees not failure but success, not imperfection but perfection,
not unrighteousness but righteousness, not reason for condemnation but reason
for celebration (8:1). By faith in Christ, our failures are exchanged for His
achievements.
FAILURE
DOES NOT DEFINE US
The
result of this is not that we never fail again. No, the result is that failure
no longer defines us. Our God and Savior does not define His people by their
failures but by their faith. Look at all the failures of the Old Testament
saints, and yet look at how God defines them in Hebrews 11. It’s not the hall
of failures but the hall of faith. He doesn’t recall their stumbles but
celebrates their successes through their faith in Christ alone. Failure is
still part of our identity, but it’s no longer the major part. It’s still part
of our lives but it’s not definitive, it’s not the last word, and it’s
certainly not the first word. Failure is not what God sees first when He looks
at His people, and it shouldn’t be what we see first when we look at ourselves
or other Christians either. We are righteous in Christ. That’s our primary
identity. That’s what God sees first, and that’s what we should see first, too.
FAILURE
BRINGS HEAVEN CLOSER
No
matter how much we confess our failures, are forgiven for our failures, and
exchange our failures for Christ’s righteousness, as long as we are in this
world we are going to fail. Again and again and again. This keeps us humble,
keeps us dependent, and keeps us looking to Christ. But, above all, it keeps us
looking toward heaven, the place where failures will never be known again. Will
we remember our failures there? Yes, but not with any pain, only as covered by
Christ’s pardon, and only to turn up the volume of our praise:
To him
who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood and made us a kingdom,
priests to his God and Father, to him be glory and dominion forever and ever.
Amen. (Rev. 1:5–6)
We
will also see our failures from a whole new perspective, not just our moral and
spiritual failures but also our relational and vocational disappointments. We
will see God’s wise providence in allowing that relationship breakup, that
interview disaster, that lost job, that failed exam. When God reframes our
failures by putting the golden frame of His wise sovereignty all around them,
they are transformed from ugly abstract randomness to beautifully crafted
designs.
Will
we experience any failures there? No, never. We will not fail, and neither will
anyone else. The tears of disappointment will be part of the deluge wiped out
of our eyes (Rev. 21:4). Heaven will be one great and long success story: moral
success, spiritual success, intellectual success, physical success, relational
success, vocational success, ecclesiastical success.
So,
yes, our present failures should drive us to Christ, but they should also make
us long for heaven, to hasten the day when the pain of failure and the torture
of disappointment will be gone forever.
