There is no one righteous, not even one.
—Romans 3:10
Failure is inclusive. No one is immune. Sometimes, it’s glaringly obvious: a dropped pass in the endzone, an onstage pratfall, an out-in-the-open sin. And sometimes, it’s hidden: you’re the only one who knows. But you do!
You’ve heard the saying, “We learn more from our failures than from our successes.” A coach will tell you that. A compassionate teacher will tell you that. A sensitive parent will tell you that.
And it’s often true.
But two observations keep me from wholeheartedly signing on.
First, some people fail to learn from their failures. With little or no resistance, they keep making the same mistakes over and over.
Second, some repent and resist repeating their failures but refuse to release them. They continue to be tormented by the memory, therefore not learning that by grace, they’ve been forgiven.
Failure happens to everyone.
Some learn from it. Some don’t.