A young man recently quoted a phrase that I had never heard before he said; “The quickest way to succeed is to fail quickly.” While I love this quote, I have also come to understand that the only way to succeed is to do something. Quit waiting on life to happen while you continue drifting through life. As a long time machinist I have had to cut many materials almost to perfection. When everything comes together it fits appropriately. Tolerances that must be within .0001 of an inch had to be cut. That is almost like taking one of your hairs and splitting it ten times. That is a pretty close tolerance. While there were times of introspection and study, eventually, regardless of the level of fear, something had to be done. Someone had to step up to the controls and turn the machine on, even if slowly. Someone had to take the measuring instruments and check all the tolerances, to assure everyone they were correct. When a job was done correctly everyone praised the sound decisions made. But when the job was a failure, that was another story.
No one ever remembers everything that was done correctly. But when done incorrectly, you never hear the end of it. It is easy to step up and tell others what to do as long as you don’t have to be responsible for their actions. On the other hand, when you are responsible, you do not want people to remember your mistakes. I have come to the understanding that a man that never makes mistakes never does anything. So while I may never hear the end of my mistakes or failures, I smile. I smile because I know that I have done something while others have done nothing.
I have told many, I am an old man playing a young man’s game by going back to college. I may never hear the end of it, but when the day is done, I will smile. I will know that I have done something that many are afraid of attempting. I will just step up to the controls, no matter how slowly and start the process, even if I fail. In order to succeed I must do something, even if it means failing quickly. There is a scripture found in the Book of Proverbs, it states and I paraphrase; “A just man falls and rises seven times again, but the wicked falls into mischief.” The meaning of these words of wisdom that I live by is this; even the best fall but get back up. My definition of failure is someone who falls and never tries again, dying in the muck they have fallen into. Failure does not have to be fatal. I may never here the end of this, but I will keep trying and smiling.
The same thing applies in your walk with God. There will always be those that are able to see everyone else’s mistake as they sit back and do nothing. You have tried to get closer to God and you stumbled. Get back up! You tried to turn your live around but fell. Get back up! You slipped on that slippery slope of sin that the enemy convinced you to walk upon. Get Back up! Failure does not have to be fatal.
If God be for you who can be against you! Get back up and smile. You may have fallen but you are not a failure.