Allowing others to fail
Reading
Keep your lives free from the love of money, and be content with what you have; for he has said, ‘I will never leave you or forsake you.’ So we can say with confidence,
‘The Lord is my helper;
I will not be afraid.
What can anyone do to me?’
Remember your leaders, those who spoke the word of God to you; consider the outcome of their way of life, and imitate their faith. Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and for ever.
Reflection
The antidote to the shame that is invariably experienced around failure is to get it out into the open. C. S. Lewis spoke about friendship being born the moment one person says to another, “What? You too? I thought I was the only one.”
Being aware of our own failures means we are more likely in turn to be forgiving of the failures of others. Sharing our failures is not easy and there aren’t many safe places in which to do so. But if there were more, we might be happier people within healthier communities and organisations, more like the “leaders” in our reading today.
One of the benefits of sharing our failures is that it in turn gives permission for others to do likewise. Sharing failures gives others permission to fail also and be open about it in order to learn. Imagine what life would look like if we truly allowed others to fail, just as we do.