Accepting Failure

Are you a perfectionist? Many people are! And how could we get along, without those sincere, hard-working, conscientious people who are forever “doing their best” and striving for “perfection.”

And yet, sometimes we fool ourselves into thinking that “succeeding”, and doing a “perfect” job is expected of us! Who do we think we are…God? Only God is perfect, and some of us are dangerously on the ragged edge of “playing God” in our perfectionism.

Better for us, if we accept from the beginning that we are imperfect, and that we cannot be a success in everything, and that we are going to fail sometimes; but that God loves us anyway, and (hopefully) others will too, even when we fail! We do not have value because we succeed or fail, but we have value in God’s eyes, because we are human, and imperfect, and sinful creatures.

Someone once said, “Nothing fails like success!” In a sense, it is true. We learn only a very little from our successes; but it is from many failures, that we learn and grow.

I find this a great comfort, that I don’t have to be perfect. I don’t have to “succeed”! I just have to rejoice in my son-ship, with a heavenly Father who loves me just as I am in my human condition.

Romans 5:8 says, “God shows his love for us in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.”

I don’t think anyone should be satisfied with a poor job, or sloppy workmanship, but I am grateful that the mess that I sometimes am, is still O.K. with God. Could I ask you to judge me kindly, and say that it’s O.K. with you too? That would really make my day!