By now everyone knows that cyclist Lance Armstrong, 7-time winner of the Tour de France, has been stripped of his titles and banned from the sport for using steroids. He is the world’s most famous cheater. The adage “It’s not whether you win or lose, but how you play the game that matters” has been replaced by Vince Lombardi’s “Winning is the only thing that matters.”
Recent research shows that over 75% of college students admit cheating in high school, up from 20% in 1950. Why the increase? Is it possible we have taught them that “failure is not an option.” Several years ago, I had a surge of high school seniors coming in to my counseling office—the presenting problem was anxiety, and the common theme was fear of failure.
Do you know that failure is built into God’s plan of redemption? The Bible is replete with leaders who failed and recovered—Abraham, Jacob, Moses, David, Peter. Cheating may be as old as Adam, but in 2012, it seems epidemic. People don't cheat just to win; they cheat to avoid failure. And without knowing God's grace, failure is not an option. But for those of us who have failed and recovered (many times!), we know the secret of success is found in God's unconditional love and acceptance.
Yesterday, when the Congressional "super committee" announced it had failed to forge a deficit reduction deal, it was immediately referred to as a “super” failure. I wondered what the difference is between a 'simple' failure and a ‘super' failure?' Considering the “super” committee’s potential for influence, it must refer to the scope of the consequences. (Don't you think Adam’s malfunction qualifies as a super failure?)
But even though our failures have differing consequences, the reality is that failure is threaded through fallen humanity—built into our DNA. But proud and self-esteeming earthlings refuse to accept that reality. They believe in intrinsic goodness. Any contrary notion is simply unacceptable.
The spiritual truth is that the more we accept that we can do no good in our flesh (Romans 7:18), the more freedom we have—from self-effort & condemnation. The Bible provides lots of examples of men & women whose failings adversely affected the entire nation of Israel—Moses and David come to mind immediately! Peter is my favorite New Testament example of failure! His failure influenced the other Disciples, and threatened to undo 3 years of faith building. But God turned it around for the good of the kingdom!
Someone reading this may think his or her failure is so super, it is irredeemable. Not so. The mature Christian knows God’s grace exceeds the worst super failure imaginable. In fact, world history is an account of man’s failures, “But where sin [failure] increased, grace increased all the more” (Romans 5:20).
