Fear of Failure

Introduction

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Fear Can Lead to Anger and Sin

In this scene from the 1999 American epic space-opera film, The Phantom Menace, a 9-year-old boy, Anakin Skywalker, is being interviewed by the Jedi Council, a guild of warrior-monks, in the hopes of being accepted for training as a Jedi knight. He stands in the middle of a circular room, surrounded by seated members of the council.

The Phantom Menace (Star Wars: Episode 1) – Fear can lead to anger and sin (start time: 1:30:15; end time: 1:30:57)

Young Anakin before the Jedi Council pic

Anakin was identified as having great power and potential, and so was invited to apply for an elite apprenticeship. In the process, he was redeemed from slavery, but his mother was not. Anakin’s training as a Jedi would provide him either the finances to buy her freedom or the power to effect her freedom by force. The weight of this responsibility would have been overwhelming for such a young boy. Anakin’s fear of failure was natural and quite reasonable, yet his fear almost cost him his entrance into the program.

Counterintuitively, Anakin needed to let go of his fear of failure in order to meet his responsibility to his mother.

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A Spirit of Power, Love, and Sound Judgment

The fictional Jedi Order is a quasi-religious paramilitary organisation. Their guiding philosophy emphasises the importance of mindfulness, non-attachment and the cultivation of compassion, making them well suited to be the guardians of peace and justice in the fictional Star Wars galaxy.

For the friends of Jesus, our faith and lifestyle leads us to a similar conclusion, albeit based on an entirely different and more realistic view of the world,

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2 Timothy 1:7 CSB

For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but one of power, love, and sound judgment.

Our Creator God calls us to action, nay commands us to the Way of Love. The one obstacle that looms ever large before us is fear. Yet the apostle here reminds us we need not be distracted nor overcome by fear if we follow our faith in Jesus into a lifestyle of power, love, and sound judgment.

Whenever we feel fear, we know we are not operating in the power, love, nor sound judgment promised to us; therefore, fear is not of God but love is (1 Jn 4:7).

Love Overcomes Fear

This does not change the fact fear is real, yet our feeling of fear does not necessarily represent the reality we are experiencing.

By his Spirit, God has provided us the power to overcome what we fear, to judge it correctly and reframe its impact in and on our life. We are empowered by the Spirit to follow a different path, motivated by a different energy. Besides power and sound judgment, the most important resource God has provided us to overcome fear is the Way of Love:

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1 John 4:18a (CSB)

There is no fear in love; instead, perfect love drives out fear.

Inspired by our faith in Jesus and in conformity to a Christian lifestyle, when we act right and choose the good, those obstacles we fear fade and falter (1 Jn 3:10). We prove victorious for Love overcomes Fear!

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What and Why?

Our previous sermon series explored our Vision and Mission statements. In conclusion, I cast my mind to what would prevent us from becoming such a healthy, functional, and safe community of faith with members known for integrity. All the obstacles I imagined came down to Fear.

Fear will prevent us from thinking of anyone other than ourselves; fear will prevent us following our Creator’s commands to love.

Kym has led us in thinking about Fear of Rejection. Today I want us to reflect on Fear of Failure. Admitting we can and will fail sometimes, may we find faith that empowers us to take the risks into which God calls us and so live without regret.

Everyone Fears Failure

When it comes to the topic of Failure, I have always found this quote from a speech made by Theodore Roosevelt to be particularly stirring:

Man In The Arena quote

It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat. —Theodore Roosevelt, "Citizenship In A Republic", delivered at the Sorbonne, in Paris, France, 23-April-1910, https://bityl.co/7Vlm (accessed 25-Jun-2021).

“The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, who, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat.” These are powerful words!

Lloyd Jones uttered a similar sentiment when he said,

The men who try to do something and fail are infinitely better than those who try to do nothing and succeed. —Lloyd Jones, as quoted in Roy B. Zuck, The Speaker’s Quote Book (Grand Rapids, MI: Kregel Publications, 1997), pg 141.

Isn’t this what we want for ourselves? To be in the arena of life, staring down our dragons with contempt? To be blessed and victorious in all we put our hands to?

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Of course this is what we want for ourselves, but with such lofty ideals comes the fear of failure. What if we don’t face our dragons with courage and confidence? What if we shrink back from the challenge and buckle under the strain of the effort?

We want to always put our best foot forward, but this creates the opportunity to trip. And thus we fear failure. Everyone fears failure.

A Parable of Fear

Jesus once told a parable of a man leaving on a journey who entrusted his business affairs to his employees. To one he gave a significant sum, to another a modest sum, and to a third a minor sum of money.

In the parable, when the man returned and prepared to settle accounts with his employees, he found only two had made a financial return from their efforts on his behalf.

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Matthew 25:24–28 (CSB)

“The man who had received one talent also approached and said, ‘Master, I know you. You’re a harsh man, reaping where you haven’t sown and gathering where you haven’t scattered seed. So I was afraid and went off and hid your talent in the ground. See, you have what is yours.’ “His master replied to him, ‘You evil, lazy servant! […] So take the talent from him and give it to the one who has ten talents.

Because this fictional person thought his employer was a hard man, he failed to start. He did not invest his employer’s money. As a result, what he had was taken away from him and given to those who already had more. Arguably a worse result than if he had put his employer’s money to work but made no return.

His fear prevented him from acting, both his fear of his employer and his fear of failing his employer. Hence, his fear of rejection came true and in the worst way.

You need not be a great man or woman in your chosen field to know the fear of failure. Imagining a better future for yourself is easy; committing to the steps necessary is the hardest part, not because of the effort required but because of the uncertainty of success. It has been said,

The two hardest things quote

The two hardest things to handle in life are failure and success. —anonymous, Roy B. Zuck, The Speaker’s Quote Book (Grand Rapids, MI: Kregel Publications, 1997), pg 141.

Overcoming The Fear Of Failure (10 minutes)

See if you can guess who this person is:

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Failed in business at age 22

Ran for legislature at 23

Again failed in business at 24

Elected to Legislature at 25

Sweetheart died at 26

Had a nervous breakdown aged 27

Defeated for Speaker at 29

Defeated for Elector at 31

Defeated for Congress at 34

Elected to Congress at 37

Defeated for Congress at 39 years of age

Defeated for Senate at 46

Defeated for Vice President at age 47

Defeated for Senate at 49

Elected President of the United States at age 51

That’s the record of Abraham Lincoln. —Taken from Bits & Pieces, as quoted by Roy B. Zuck, The Speaker’s Quote Book (Grand Rapids, MI: Kregel Publications, 1997), pg 140.

Abraham Lincolm pic

At what point would you have given up and stopped trying? I am certain no one would have been surprised if Lincoln had given up, yet he continued, perhaps spurred on by his sense of call to end slavery in the United States.

If we all fear failure, how then do we overcome this fear?

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You Will Fail

We begin by acknowledging that we will fail, at some point, at some time, in some way.

Harry Gray reminds us,

You have failed many times, although you may not remember. You fell down the first time you tried to walk. You almost drowned the first time you tried to swim, didn’t you? Did you hit the ball the first time you swung a bat? Heavy hitters, the ones who hit the most runs, also strike out a lot. R. H. Macy failed seven times before his store in New York caught on. English novelist John Creasey got 753 rejection slips before he published 564 books. Babe Ruth struck out 1,330 times, but he also hit 714 home runs [at baseball]. Do not worry about failure. Worry about the chances you miss when you do not even try. —Roy B. Zuck, The Speaker’s Quote Book (Grand Rapids, MI: Kregel Publications, 1997), pg 142.

You have failed in your past, you will fail in your future. You’re probably failing right now, failing to stay awake! 🤣

James, one of the brothers of Jesus, and a leader in the first church at Jerusalem, wrote,

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James 3:2 CSB

For we all stumble in many ways. If anyone does not stumble in what he says, he is mature, able also to control the whole body.

Thus, it is biblical to fail … by that I don’t mean the Bible provides allowance for our failures but that even biblical writers acknowledge we will fail, both before becoming a friend of Jesus and after.

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Allow yourself to feel the disappointment, but not disapproval. When you fail, you will feel bad about it, or at least you should. And that’s okay. Feel the disappointment but do not take your feeling as indicating disapproval.

When I was training for my recent ultramarathon, I early on believed I could complete the 100 km in at least 27 hours because that was the time of my friends who coaxed me into entering the event. But then I discovered the cut-off was 28 hours, which made me think my expected time was too high.

One day I was training on the Honeymoon Track in the Royal National Park, a path of about 1 km, an elevation gain of 124 m, and lots of stairs. As I was running up and down this track, I overhead two women talking about their own training. It was clear they too were training for the Ultratrail Australia event.

As we chatted together about our training, I mentioned I was expected to finish in 27 hours, to which they exclaimed I should have no trouble getting closer to 24 hours, if not 20. Thus I shifted my time goal to 20 hours.

For the first 57 kms of the event this past May, I was on track to make this time, but then I faltered. I was exhausted and would have pulled out of the event if not for the forceful encouragement of my support crew, made up of my previously loving wife and daughter 😀

I finished the event in 21 hours 13 minutes and 8 seconds, quite short of my goal. Am I disappointed? Just a little. But generally people are approving of my achievement, even those who did much better than me. It is such disappointments which spur runners on to enter these events again and again, to try for a better time … but not me!

If you are a friend of Jesus, you know you will fail and so does he. Feel the disappointment, but not that he disapproves. Our Creator has promised and provided everything we need to do better next time, he does not take those resources away. What are those resources? (say it with me)

2 Timothy 1:7 CSB

For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but one of power, love, and sound judgment.

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Failure is an event, never a person. When we fail at anything, it is an experience that truly sucks! But it is an experience that happens, it is an event, a moment in time which does not define you.

Not to yack on about my running, it really was hard. By the time I was drawing close to the 57 km checkpoint, I was really quite emotionally drained. I started saying to myself, “I really want to finish this, but I don’t think I want it bad enough”.

If I had not finished the event, that would not have changed my identity as a runner. Like a fool, I will still enter events and push myself farther and faster than I should.

We all fail, it is just something we do, but it is not who we are. Richard Halverson noted,

The apostle Paul failed; Peter failed; every one of the twelve apostles failed.

David, Israel’s greatest king, “a man after God’s own heart,” failed.

Moses, giant among the Israelites, giver of the Law, deliverer of the people, failed.

Jacob, father of Israel, failed; Isaac, son of promise, failed.

Abraham, progenitor of Israel, father of the faithful, prototype of those who are righteous through faith, failed.

Even our first parents, in their human perfection, failed.

Who hasn’t failed?

It is not failing that is the problem; it is what one does after he has failed. —Richard Halverson, as quoted in Roy B. Zuck, The Speaker’s Quote Book (Grand Rapids, MI: Kregel Publications, 1997), pg 141.

According to the apostle Paul,

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Romans 5:3 NLT

We can rejoice, too, when we run into problems and trials, for we know that they help us develop endurance.

When we fail, and we will fail, we can learn from the experience how to do better next time, even how to be a better person for the experience. Charles F. Kettering wisely noted,

We have come to fear failure too much. Failure is the practice essential for success. —quoted by Roy B. Zuck, The Speaker’s Quote Book (Grand Rapids, MI: Kregel Publications, 1997), pg 141.

You and I will fail. By it we feel disappointment but we need not feel our God’s disapproval. Failure is something we do, it is not who are.

You Can Overcome

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Proverbs 24:16a (CSB)

Though a righteous person falls seven times, he will get up…

The biblical writers acknowledge we will fail, yet encourage us to overcome!

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It doesn’t matter what happens to you, but what happens in you. The disappointment of failure can prevent us from acting before failure happens or acting again after failure. The aches and pains and losses that accompany failure can be terrible, but it is the fear rising in you that is the real trajedy of failure.

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Galatians 6:9 CSB

Let us not get tired of doing good, for we will reap at the proper time if we don’t give up.

You can overcome your failures; you must press on to be good and do good despite any setbacks along the way. The Way of Love can be hard, it has a narrow gate after all, and can be difficult (cf. Mt 7:14). But what has our Creator promised the friends of Jesus? (say it with me)

2 Timothy 1:7 CSB

For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but one of power, love, and sound judgment.

You Must Take Faith-Risks

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We must believe this to not be hindered by a fear of failure, for as it is written,

Hebrews 11:6a (CSB)

Without faith it is impossible to please God…

The author of The Letter to the Hebrews was in this way reminding us faith requires risk. We fear failure, so the Christian lifestyle has an element of risk to it.

This makes the Way of Love a grand adventure, an adventure our Creator expects us to face with daring!

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You cannot play it safe and please God. Yet our Creator has provided us the Spirit, which means we go onward and upward with a coach, partner, and guide providing us power, love, and sound judgment. Why provide such a spirit for us to remain merely cold and timid soul swho know neither victory nor defeat?

It may be true our greatest fear is failure, but what is our greatest pain? Regret.

I joke that my wife forced me to continue on my ultramarathon. The reality is she reminded me of a bitter truth: I had wanted to run this event for a number of years, so I would regret pulling out. I may not have wanted to continue badly enough, but I certainly did not want to face a lifetime of regret!

You will fail. You can overcome your failure so need not fear it. Don’t try to avoid failure; you must take faith-risks.

What Faith-Risks Is God Calling You to Take?

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Our Creator God calls the friends of Jesus to faith-risks. To what are you being called?

It is risky to love God. Is Yahweh calling you to share your faith with a family member or friend, a co-worker or fellow student? Is he calling you to pray more or to pray specifically? Is he calling you to some other spiritual discipline that will take you deeper into your faith and your allegiance to him?

It is risky to love one another. Is Yahweh calling you to talk with someone here not in your usual circle of friends? Has someone else’s cares and concerns moved you to pray for them or even to do something for them? Is our God calling you to give a little more of your time, your money or other resources?

It is risky to love our neighbours. Is Yahweh calling you to talk with or even help your immediate neighbours? Is the plight of your neighbours further away moving you to give of your time, money, or other resources?

Our God has provided us a spirit of power, love, and sound judgment. If we take our faith seriously at all, then that Spirit will move us to feel more, to do more, and even go somewhere we likely do not expect.

These are faith-risks which naturally arouse our fear of failure, yet even the religious leaders of Jesus’ time recognised the movement sparked by the apostles would fail if it was not of God. The celebrated teacher Gamaliel argued,

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Acts 5:38–39 (CSB)

“I tell you, stay away from these men and leave them alone. For if this plan or this work is of human origin, it will fail; but if it is of God, you will not be able to overthrow them. You may even be found fighting against God.”

If what you feel moved to do is prompted by the Spirit of God, then it will succeed and you have no reason at all to fear failure. If it is not of God, then it is more likely to fail. This fact then behooves us to keep in step with the Spirit (Gal 5:25).

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Conclusion

The Way of Love is a grand adventure, to which we are called, and for which we are provided not a spirit of fear, but of (say it with me) power, love, and sound judgment! Walking in this Way of Love perfectly drives out fear, fear of rejection and fear of failure.

Admitting we can and will fail sometimes, may we find faith that empowers us to take the risks into which God calls us and so live without regret.

Let us pray…