I pray and pray
for strength and determination, but have failed at every one of my New Year’s
resolutions so far…whyyyyyyy?
We live in a culture that idolizes success, holds up the “winners” in life and scorns the “losers.” We have become skillful self-promoters dangerously adept at selling ourselves, even to the point of deceiving ourselves sometimes. We define ourselves by our accomplishments; our ability to deliver, our perfect performance. We have bought into the myth, sometimes unconsciously, that “success saves.”
One of my favorite books of all time is Maria Boulding’s Gateway to Hope: An Exploration of Failure. In it, she extols the odd, counter-cultural truth that God doesn’t love us despite of our faults and failures, but rather in and through them we are being emptied, being broke open and brought into deeper intimacy with God and one another. God works in and through our failure to bring about the kingdom! Our faults force us to shed our self-sufficiency and masks of perfection and accept redemption, knowing that we have not earned it by our accomplishments. Our weakness cultivates a deeper vulnerability, compassion and acceptance towards others – the very hallmarks of a follower of Jesus. In the spiritual life, our failures are often much more valuable than our successes. Consider Jesus. He was most successful at the very moment that he experienced his deepest failure and suffering. This is the paradox that we Christians know in our bones. It is the very mystery of God that we are invited to live out…
There is something very sacred to be found in our brokenness. Accomplishments, failures, successes, embarrassments - no matter; we are but instruments. A story….
The perfect pot was proud of its accomplishment and saw itself as succeeding for purpose for which it was made. But the poor cracked pot was ashamed of its imperfection and miserable that it was able to accomplish only half of what it had been made to do. After two years of what it perceived as bitter failure, it spoke to the water bearer one day by the stream. “I am ashamed of myself and I want to apologize to you. For the past two years, I have been able to deliver only half my load because of this crack in my side. Because of my flaws you have to work without getting the full value of your efforts.”
The water bearer said, “As we return to the master’s house, I want you to notice the beautiful flowers along the path.” As they went up the hill, the old cracked pot noticed the beautiful wildflowers on the side of the path. The pot felt cheered, but at the end of the trail, again apologized for its failure. The bearer said to the pot, “Did you notice that there were flowers only on your side of your path, but not on the other pot’s side? That’s because I knew about your flaw and took advantage of it. I planted flower seeds on your side of the path, and every day while we walk back from the stream, you’ve watered them for me. For two years I have been able to pick these beautiful flowers to decorate my master’s table. If you were not just the way you are, he would not have such beauty to grace his house.
We live in a culture that idolizes success, holds up the “winners” in life and scorns the “losers.” We have become skillful self-promoters dangerously adept at selling ourselves, even to the point of deceiving ourselves sometimes. We define ourselves by our accomplishments; our ability to deliver, our perfect performance. We have bought into the myth, sometimes unconsciously, that “success saves.”
One of my favorite books of all time is Maria Boulding’s Gateway to Hope: An Exploration of Failure. In it, she extols the odd, counter-cultural truth that God doesn’t love us despite of our faults and failures, but rather in and through them we are being emptied, being broke open and brought into deeper intimacy with God and one another. God works in and through our failure to bring about the kingdom! Our faults force us to shed our self-sufficiency and masks of perfection and accept redemption, knowing that we have not earned it by our accomplishments. Our weakness cultivates a deeper vulnerability, compassion and acceptance towards others – the very hallmarks of a follower of Jesus. In the spiritual life, our failures are often much more valuable than our successes. Consider Jesus. He was most successful at the very moment that he experienced his deepest failure and suffering. This is the paradox that we Christians know in our bones. It is the very mystery of God that we are invited to live out…
There is something very sacred to be found in our brokenness. Accomplishments, failures, successes, embarrassments - no matter; we are but instruments. A story….
The perfect pot was proud of its accomplishment and saw itself as succeeding for purpose for which it was made. But the poor cracked pot was ashamed of its imperfection and miserable that it was able to accomplish only half of what it had been made to do. After two years of what it perceived as bitter failure, it spoke to the water bearer one day by the stream. “I am ashamed of myself and I want to apologize to you. For the past two years, I have been able to deliver only half my load because of this crack in my side. Because of my flaws you have to work without getting the full value of your efforts.”
The water bearer said, “As we return to the master’s house, I want you to notice the beautiful flowers along the path.” As they went up the hill, the old cracked pot noticed the beautiful wildflowers on the side of the path. The pot felt cheered, but at the end of the trail, again apologized for its failure. The bearer said to the pot, “Did you notice that there were flowers only on your side of your path, but not on the other pot’s side? That’s because I knew about your flaw and took advantage of it. I planted flower seeds on your side of the path, and every day while we walk back from the stream, you’ve watered them for me. For two years I have been able to pick these beautiful flowers to decorate my master’s table. If you were not just the way you are, he would not have such beauty to grace his house.
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