Principles for Addressing Failure

Where are you?

January is historically a time for fresh starts, New Year resolutions and personal inventory.
I find myself taking a personal inventory every year at this time. Typical questions are along the lines of "What did I do last year?" "What do I want to accomplish this year?" and "What is holding me back?"

Most New Year resolutions are a response to something we don't like about ourselves or our environments.

It is only natural to address shortcomings, failures and setbacks. This is the case in one of the most famous Christian stories of Scripture, the account of Adam and Eve.

In Genesis 3, Adam and Eve make the worse decision of their lives. In direct disobedience to God, they eat fruit from the tree of knowledge of Good and Evil.

In a hair-raising moment, God says, "Adam, Where are you?" (Gen 3:9)
Adam and Eve sinned against God. Their response to the big mistake was first to try to cover it up, then to hide from it. I often wonder how God felt when He called out to them? What did His cry sound like? Was it the "ADAM!" with an inflection like that of a mother that sees her child hiding after he wrote on the wall with his new crayola crayon? Or was it more of a call of desperation like that of a parent that just discovered their child missing?

Can you imagine the desperation of a parent who has raised a child, showered them with love, given them everything they needed and most everything that they wanted only to discover that their precious offspring has run away in search of a "Better Life?"

What goes through the mind of a father who drops everything to hunt for his little girl who has run off to Hollywood in hopes of becoming the next famous actress? How does he feel when he finds her, broken and abused, on the streets, living in prostitution? Laden with addictions that she will fight for the rest of her life?

Their must be a struggle in the parents heart. A line between tough love and compassionate discipline versus blind grace. I don't know how I could balance my outrage in such a situation. How would I balance my love and desire to extend Grace and yet bring restitution?

I can only conclude that God is surely a just God.
In the beginning we see Him setting up a recovery program. The first intervention of sorts! And at extreme personal cost to Himself.

From Genesis 3, we discover some Principles for Addressing Failure. The steps are simple, but incredibly hard to execute.

1) Address the issue! In Genesis 3:13 God addresses the issue. He says, "Adam and Eve, What have you done!?" Instead of backing away, God hits the problem head on.

2) Decide the consequences. In Gen 3:14-19 God lays out the consequences for the wrong and the parties involved accept those consequences. Perhaps they didn't have a choice, and obviously they are disturbed by them, but nonetheless, they accept them.

3) Pass out the judgement. God executes the judgement on the spot. The serpent is cursed, the woman is changed, the man loses his privileges.

4) Deal with the temptation. Adam and Eve were removed from the garden immediately and a gatekeeper was setup to keep them from entering the garden and making things worse. Gen. 3:22-24 God establishes roles for the man and for the woman. In vs. 16 he says to the woman, your desire will be for your husband and he will rule over you. In vs. 19 he says to the man, you will work for your food.

5) Extend restoration! The most important result and the most exciting part of the story is that God immediately set out to bring restoration. He set in motion a plan to bring about a savior. Genesis 3:15, God tells the serpent that He will use the woman's offspring to "crush your head". In verse 21, God made garments of skin to cloth Adam and Eve. We find Him meeting our needs, covering our shortcomings and pointing us in the right direction.

As men and women affected by "The Fall", we naturally question God in this passage, but I have come to the conclusion that everything in this passage was for the good of the ones that God loves. For Adam, Eve and yes for you and me.

May your New Year be filled with accomplishment and gain as you attempt to address your goals and priorities in the days to come. Take a moment to legitimately inventory and address the issues and situations that hinder you. Put into practice the simple steps from this passage that lead us out of failure and into success by addressing our problems head-on.