Whenever someone messes up in sports or answering a question in school these days–kids like to say that they not only ‘failed,’ but that it was an ‘Epic Fail.’ I guess this is failure on steroids.
Have you noticed this trend?
I call it the Rush Limbaugh effect. Meant to be a self fulfilling prophecy I guess–what it ends up being is just plain mean.
Remember when Rush kept saying that he hoped President Obama would fail? I know. I know. I get it. He doesn’t agree with Obama on…well, anything. But, ‘I hope he fails?’ What kind of a goal is that? I can understand hoping some policies don’t make it, hoping we do not keep sinking into the moral abyss, even hoping we don’t continue growing government and shrinking individual freedoms, but just wishing, hoping and possibly even praying that the president crashes and burns?
Surely we can do better than that, right?
If you are actually hoping, wishing and praying that our country would turn back to God then why not hope, wish and especially pray the same for Obama? What if the Lord Jesus Christ became the most important person in his life? What if he lived by godly principles first and foremost?
What if we all did?
Wouldn’t that be a better goal than ‘epic failure?’
How about epic success — not as the world defines it, but as the Lord does?
The church could learn a thing or two from this nasty trend. Too many pastors are secretly hoping, wishing and perhaps even praying for others (the ones they see as competition) to fail–and fail epically. But where is this goal put forward in scripture?
Stop searching. It’s not there.
We invented it. Make you proud?
Didn’t think so.
Lately I have been challenged more than ever to concern myself more with what God has called me to do and less with the judgment of others. That’s God’s territory—not mine. And when I struggle with fairness or envy I find the best medicine is to pray for the person’s success.
Do I always do this?
Sadly, no. But when I do, it always works. It works on me…to get my own heart back on course.
Try it next time you’re secretly hoping for someone to experience epic failure.