Fearing Failure

In "Shepherd Leadership", authors McCormick and Davenport remind Christian leaders to allow for second chances and gently restore the fallen. They write:

Thomas Edison filed an impressive 1,093 patents with the U.S. Patent Office, and behind each one of those 1,093 successes lay hundreds and sometimes thousands of failures. Edison mastered the art of recovering from failure with lessons in hand and sought to pass it on to his workers. Near the end of his career, a former worker, Alfred Tate, penned the following letter to his former boss: "Above all you taught me not to be afraid of failure; that scars are sometimes as honorable as medals."

Fear of failure can paralyze and defeat us. But failure is in fact a great teacher if we know how to learn and apply its lessons. Edison learned the value of failure. He never let it discourage him to the point of quitting. All of us will fail, but we must never let failure be final.

"Brothers, if someone is caught in a sin, you who are spiritual should restore him gently. But watch yourself, or you also may be tempted. Carry each other's burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ."
- Galatians 6:1-2