Worshipping Success

In an earlier blog I talked about the great sacrifices German pastor Dietrich Bonhoeffer made to try to stop the great evil of the Nazis. I wondered whether Bonhoeffer was discouraged when every effort failed. His participation in a plot to assassinate Hitler was rewarded with prison and eventual execution. Evil continued to run free.

I am reading an excellent new biography of Bonhoeffer by Eric Metaxas. Indirectly, he answers my question. He says that Bonhoeffer was fascinated by the way people worship success. The book quotes Bonhoeffer in his book Ethics,

In a world where success is the measure and justification of all things the figure of Him who was sentenced and crucified remains a stranger and is at best the object of pity. The world will allow itself to be subdued only by success. It is not ideas or opinions which decide, but deeds. Success alone justifies wrongs done...

I find those words convicting and oddly comforting at the same time. I forget that I serve a savior who was crucified before he was resurrected, and calls me to be crucified with him. I am not sure that God cares as much as I do whether I succeed or fail. I think He cares only that through success or failure I love him with all of my heart, soul, mind and strength.

If you want to read more, here are the links to those earlier blogs:
http://doorinthewilderness.blogspot.com/2011/02/accepting-hardship-as-pathway-to-peace.html
http://doorinthewilderness.blogspot.com/2011/02/accepting-hardship-as-pathway-to-peace_10.html

Blessings,
Beth

The Good Thing About Being Mediocre

The other day I was a part of a discussion about becoming an excellent writer. It has been said that a writer does not truly find his voice until he writes a million words. One guy decided to calculate it out. A person who wants to find his voice, only the first step in becoming a great writer, would have to write 1000 words a day for nearly three years. If he takes weekends off, he wouldn't arrive for nearly four years. Another guy taking part in the discussion said that he heard about a study that said the people who truly succeed are the ones who have the highest capacity to withstand their own mediocrity. Everyone else gives up too soon.

I think the same principal applies to all greatness, not skill as a writer. Growth takes effort and time. If I want to grow, become a great person, or a great lover of God or a great lover of other people, I have to slog through a lot of mediocrity, and probably some abject failure along the way.

As I reflected on these ideas I decided not to be discouraged by them. In fact, I think I like them. It takes a lot of practice and perseverance to become great, achieve mastery. On the way to that mastery there is a lot a well intentioned mediocrity. If I find myself to be mediocre I should not conclude that I will never succeed and give up. Instead I will shrug my shoulders, accept this as my current place on the journey, and soldier on toward excellence.