Beyond the Threshold of Failure
A few weeks ago, something took place that was historic, dramatic, boring, and consequential – all at the same time. It took fifteen roll call votes to elect a Speaker of The United States House of Representatives. Typically, as you know, this is a mere formality. For about one hundred years, it has only taken one vote to elect the leader of the party that is in the majority of the House of Representatives to that position. It did not go quite that smoothly this time.
Representative Kevin McCarthy has been the leader of the Republicans in the House of Representatives and the last congressional election resulted in that party having a slim majority in that chamber of Congress. Even with all of that being the case, some internal struggles within his party caused the process to go on and on.
During one of those votes (I did not watch all of them), I heard one commentator make an observation I thought was interesting. He said that Mr. McCarthy was “beyond the threshold of failure.” What he meant by that was that, as the votes were being counted, there were not enough left to give him the number he needed to be successful in his attempt to hold a position that many thought would almost automatically be his.
I’m having trouble getting that phrase “beyond the threshold of failure” out of my mind. On the one hand, I’m wondering if some people are “written off” entirely too soon by others. I’m thinking that there are people who could be successful and have a rewarding and productive life if a teacher, a coach, parents, or any number of other people in some kind of position of authority had not considered him/her to be “beyond the threshold of failure.”
While Jesus was on the earth, He spent time with people that others seemed to have considered “beyond the threshold of failure.” In fact, that was one of the criticisms leveled at Him by the religious leaders of the society in which He lived. Those who wear His name today would do well to emulate Him in this regard.
At the same time, there is another consideration. The Bible teaches in both the Old Testament and the New Testament that individuals, families, and societies can remove themselves so far from God that it is very difficult and sometimes impossible for them to find their way back to Him. The letters to the seven churches found in the second and third chapters of Revelation should serve as a warning to churches as well.
It might be worth our time to consider the events recorded in Acts 13. Without going into a lot of detail, it will suffice to say that Paul and Barnabas were met with fierce resistance from the Jews in Antioch of Pisidia. In verse forty-six, Paul told them, “…Since you thrust it (the gospel) aside and judge yourselves unworthy of eternal life, behold, we are turning to the Gentiles.”
Notice that neither the Lord nor His spokesmen considered preaching the gospel to them to be a worthless endeavor with worthless people. Their own attitudes and actions were the reasons that they missed out on the greatest opportunity they would ever have. At the same time those attitudes and actions did not keep Paul and Barnabas from continuing to preach to anybody who would listen.
All of this has caused me to do some thinking about how I should treat others. Since I am not the One who is omniscient, it seems to me that I would be well advised to never treat anybody as though I think that they are “beyond the threshold of failure.” Even when a church follows the biblical command to withdraw fellowship from a person who is living a life which is contrary to how he should behave, we are told, “Do not regard him as an enemy, but warn him as a brother” (2 Thess. 3:15).
All of this (and much more that I could write) has caused me to be very thankful that I’m not the final judge. At the same time, I realize that one day, I will stand before the One who is. I would be well advised to try to treat people like He treated people. Maybe that’s one reason the Bible places such an emphasis on wisdom.
AUTHOR: Jim Faughn
