What's your job?

I watched a comedy where a wife and mother was talking about their family and said to her husband: “My job is to protect you so you don’t fall on your faces.” Her husband’s response was: “Your job is to pick us up when we do.” Who do you think was correct?

If you ask me, the husband was correct. As much as we do not like falling on our faces, it is a part of growing up. Yes, who can say that while they were learning to walk they never fell? Well, just as I thought – no one can and that’s my point exactly.

Even the Bible tells us that a righteous man may fall seven times* - that is not to say that if you fall/falter/fail eight times you stop being righteous. The point is that "falling" is not the issue – though you shouldn’t make a habit of it - rising is more important and that is what you should make a habit of. You cannot refuse to try because you think you will fail. We’ve talked about this about this before...and it relates to various aspects of life.

As protective as we may want to be of our children or of our spouses, sometimes we need to give them (& ourselves) space to learn from a fall or a failure - count the cost though. I'm not aware of any toddler who learnt how to walk without tripping even if only once - are you?

Ralph Waldo Emerson put it well when he said: "Our greatest glory is not in never failing, but in rising up every time we fail."
Now that is something that we should not plan but also not forget - not today, not ever!

Let's lovingly support those around us - whether they are standing or stumbling. Failing/faltering/falling is not fatal once we remain anchored in the word of God.

Source:
*Prov 24:16a - Even if godly people fall down seven times, they always get up. (NIRV)