I sought the Lord and he answered me, and delivered me from all my fears. Psalm 34:4.
Here are some bits of anonymous wisdom from my files about success and failure: ‘You may not be what you think you are, but what you think, you are!’ (Sports stars talk about ‘imaging’). ‘I don’t know the secret of success, but I do know the secret of failure – try to please everybody’. ‘Success is not permanent. The same is also true of failure’. ‘The biggest reward for a thing well done is to have done it’. ‘Mistakes are to life what shadows are to light’.
The vision of the church in James, Peter and the Revelation is of a suffering, patient, scattered people who are encouraged to face the hostility of the world without losing hope. In the church of the crucified Lord, one’s esteem should not be a function of ‘better’ or ‘smarter’ or ‘bigger’. ‘Effectiveness’ – the appropriate embodiment of faithfulness in given human contexts – is a better idea.
Lord, remind me continually that the only valid comparison is not between me and others, but between my actual and potential: I should strive to do my best, not someone else’s best. Amen.
Shalom!
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