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The Lessons of Success and Failure

 Success and Failure. Both have important lessons to teach.

Proverbs 24:16
For a righteous man may fall seven times
And rise again,
But the wicked shall fall by calamity.
In our society, both in the church and outside the church, we are drawn to success. We respect success and we listen to those and honor those who are successful. That’s a smart thing to do.
What is even smarter is to respect and listen to those who have also failed and failed multiple times at doing something. (Not talking about moral failures in this context).
7 times down 8 times up.
There’s a lot that can be learned from someone who has failed and failed but hasn’t quit. Actually more can be learned from them than someone who has never failed.
What can really be learned from someone who is successful because they inherited money or got the job because of who they were related to and has yet to suffer a setback?
Most of us have experienced failures and will probably face more going forward. We need to learn how someone who failed 7 times keeps getting up and trying again.
They have something about them that we need. One thing the verse here mentions is righteousness. As a believer in Christ we are the righteousness of God through Christ. We have the ability to rise back up no matter how many times life knocks us down.
Learn from the successful and learn from those who have experienced failure but who keep getting up. You may also find out that those who are really successful experienced and learned a lot from failures.
As I tell my children experience is a good way to learn but it is so much less painful if you learn from someone else’s experiences than your own.
Respect and honor everyone you come in contact with. They all have a lesson to teach you.
Micah 7:8
Do not rejoice over me, my enemy;
When I fall, I will arise;
When I sit in darkness,
The LORD will be a light to me.

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