Luke 19-21

November 4

Luke 19-21

Have you ever been so afraid of failure you didn’t even try? Failure is something we try to avoid, but sometimes fear of failure keeps us from the best. Failure is not usually fatal. We can learn from our failures and move forward. Jesus tells a parable about three servants in whom a king had entrusted money while he was gone. Two of the servants came back with a return on their investment. One came back with ten times the amount he was given another came back with five times what he was given. Both of these servants were commended by the king and given ten and five cities respectively to be in charge.

The third servant mentioned in the story was afraid of failure. He hid his money and when the king returned, he returned the money. The king condemned the servant hiding the money and not getting any return for his investment.

God has given us all gifts. For some it is money or other material possessions, for others it is a talent or other type of spiritual gift. God gives us these gifts and allows us to decide what we will do with that gift. He does not dictate how we use these gifts, but He expects us to use them for the building of the Kingdom of God. Some will get great returns on their investment, others will get a smaller return. The one in Jesus’ story who was condemned was the one who did not do anything with his gift.

Hiding our gifts out of fear of failure is unacceptable. It is better to try and fail than to never try. When we fail, we have the opportunity to examine the reason for the failure, to make the necessary adjustments and to pick up and move forward again. Failure is just a step toward success when we are willing to take chances and allow God to direct our paths.