週一嗎哪
服事全球工商界
2007.4.30

悲傷變為喜樂，失敗變為成功

前不久有一位智者觀察到一件我想了許久的事，他說：「悲傷是打開喜樂的門，而苦難是通向平安的路。」悲傷變為喜樂，苦難變為平安？這是什麼意思？這怎麼可能？畢竟我們一般人都會盡量避免悲傷與苦難。

當我繼續思想這似非而是的吊詭話語，我想到另一個必然的原則：「一味地追求成功，會走向驕傲與傲慢」。若悲傷、困苦與失敗會幫助我們走向喜樂、平安與謙卑，那麼成功（從未受過挫折）就很容易使我們陷入自我中心，太過於喜愛自己的成就，或太著迷於自己的事。

最近我訪問一位領袖，他說在他成長的過程中，因為父親灌輸他強烈的工作觀念，所以他相信若他夠努力，就絕不會失敗。但有一次，不論他多麼努力，他還是無法扭轉劣勢。

對那位領袖而言，那個危機變成一個使他有深刻學習的美好經驗。那危機使他改變了作生意的方法，也革命性地改變他對員工的看法。失敗並沒有減少他對殷勤努力工作的重視，但那是他第一次認知自己的有限。更重要的是，他了解自己需要倚靠神賜下他所缺乏的智慧與力量。

聖經也討論到這些議題－－喜樂常常隱藏在悲傷裡，而失敗是通往成功的道路：

當目標達成時，喜樂就代替痛苦。不論在商場、在家中或個人生命裡，往目標邁進的過程中，我們常經歷痛苦、沮喪。耶穌基督了解這一點，祂以生產為例向門徒說明，使他們對耶穌將面臨的痛苦有心理準備：「婦人生產的時候就憂愁，因為她的時候到了。既生了孩子，就不再記念那苦楚，因為歡喜世上生了一個人」（約翰福音16章21節）。耶穌知道他們會為祂的死，經歷極大的悲傷，但幾天後，他們的悲傷會被無限的喜樂取代。「你們現在也是憂愁，但我要再見你們，你們的心就喜樂了。這喜樂也沒有人能奪去」（約翰福音16章22節）。

失敗顯示出在何處我們可以找到成功。比起成功，我們可從失敗中得到更多。成功可能是許多我們無法控制的因素所造成的，可能純粹是幸運，或者在因我們在剛好的時間且在剛好的位置上，或是因我們努力且主動。但當我們失敗時，則很容易準確地指出失敗的原因。若我們誠實，許多時候我們會發現失敗的原因在於自己。那是幾世紀以前，以色列王大衛的發現：「我凡事平順，便說：『我永不動搖。』…但你掩了面，我就驚惶。…我向耶和華懇求說：『求你憐恤我。』你已將我的哀哭變為跳舞…給我披上喜樂」（詩篇30篇6-11節）。

身處在這個講求實際的世界裡，我們會發現自己常常相信、倚靠自己的公司、職位、財物、力量與能力。但這些可能一瞬間就消失，唯一不動搖，值得你信賴的錨是上帝。

思想 / 討論題目
1. 你曾否發現悲傷可生出喜樂，或苦難的結局是平安？若你或你認識的人曾經歷過這種情況，請說明那時的情形及結果。

2. 成功又如何？你可否想到什麼例子，不論是你自己或你周遭的人，因為不斷的成功，而變得驕傲，甚至傲慢？結果如何？為什麼？

3. 我們都經歷過失敗，不論在職場或個人生活中，失敗教導你什麼重要的功課？

4. 本文是否改變你對悲傷或失敗的態度？在你現在所面臨的情況中，雖然你正在忍受悲傷與失敗的感覺，若你的注意力改放在最後的產品－－喜樂與成功上，你是否能以希望與期待去面對？

註：若你有聖經請看有關此主題的其他經文，請看：
約書亞記1章6-9節；傳道書7章2-5節；羅馬書12章3節；哥林多後書7章5-10節；雅各書4章9-10節


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MONDAY MANNA
A service to the business community
April 30, 2007

SORROW LEADS TO JOY, AS FAILURE LEADS TO SUCCESS
By: Robert J. Tamasy

Some time ago a wise individual made an observation that I found myself pondering for days. He said, “Sorrow is the door to joy, and affliction is the path to peace.” What did he mean, sorrow leads to joy, and affliction to peace? How could that be? After all, if there is anything that we typically seek to avoid, it is sorrow and affliction.

As I continued to consider that striking, paradoxical statement, I arrived at another insight that seemed to be a corollary principle: “Unrelenting success is the way to pride and arrogance.” If sorrow, affliction and failure can serve to lead us to joy, peace and humility, then it would seem that success – untarnished and unrestrained by life’s setbacks – can easily cause us to get caught up in ourselves, to delight too eagerly in our accomplishments or become too enthralled with our own press clippings.

Recently I interviewed a man who declared that because his father had instilled such a strong, unrelenting work ethic into him as he was growing up, “I honestly believed that I could not fail if I worked hard enough.” There was only one problem. The time came, he admitted, when “I failed and no matter how hard I worked, I could not turn (my dire situation) around.”

This crisis, as it turned out, proved to be a wonderful and profound learning experience for this leader, one that ultimately transformed his approach to business and revolutionized his perspective of the people who worked for him. Failure did not diminish his appreciation for the value of hard work and diligence, but for the first time he was able to recognize his own limitations. Even more important, he realized his need to rely on God for the wisdom and strength he did not possess on his own.

The Bible speaks directly to these issues – the reality that joy often is concealed within a wrapping of sorrow, and that failure can clear the path to success:

Joy replaces pain when the goal is attained. Whether in business, home life or personal pursuits, we often experience pain and distress in the process of pursuing desired goals. Jesus Christ understood this. Speaking to his followers to prepare them for agonies he soon would face, he used the analogy of birth: “A woman giving birth to a child has pain because her time has come, but when her baby is born she forgets the anguish because of her joy that a child is born into the world” (John 16:21). Jesus knew while they would experience intense grief at his death, days later their sorrow would be replaced by limitless joy. “Now is your time of grief, but I will see you again and you will rejoice, and no one will take away your joy” (John 16:22).

Failure reveals where true success is found. For some reason, we typically learn more from failure than from success. Success can result from many factors beyond our control – ranging from simple luck to just being in the right place at the right time – as much as it can come from hard work and initiative. But when we fail, it seems easier to pinpoint the cause. Many times, if we are honest, we discover that the cause for failure lies with ourselves. That is what David, king of Israel, understood centuries ago: “When I felt secure, I said, ‘I will never be shaken,’…but when you hid your face, I was dismayed. To you, O Lord, I called; to the Lord I cried for mercy…. You turned my wailing into dancing…you clothed me with joy” (Psalm 30:6-11).

Living in a tangible world, we find ourselves tempted to trust and depend on our companies, positions, material possessions or innate strengths and abilities. But any and all of these can be lost in moments. The only immovable, trustworthy anchor is God.

Robert J. Tamasy is vice president of communications for Leaders Legacy, Inc., a non-profit corporation based in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S.A. He is the author of Business At Its Best: Timeless Wisdom from Proverbs for Today’s Workplace (River City Press) and has coauthored with David A. Stoddard, The Heart of Mentoring: 10 Proven Principles for Developing People to Their Fullest Potential (NavPress).

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Reflection/Discussion Questions

1. Have you ever found joy being birthed out of sorrow, or peace becoming the end result of affliction? If you have experienced this, or someone you know has, describe the circumstances and how this came about.






2. What about success? Can you think of examples, whether in your life or the lives of people around you, which show how repeated success led to pride and perhaps even arrogance? How did that come about – and why?






3. We all have experienced failure at one time or another. What are some important lessons that failure has taught you, whether in the workplace or in your personal life?





4. Does this discussion change your attitude at all toward sorrow or failure? Are there any situations you are now facing that you can approach with a greater sense of hope and expectation if you concentrate on the end products of joy and success while you endure present sorrow or feelings of failure?









NOTE: If you have a Bible and would like to review some other passages that relate to this topic, consider how the following verses convey vision:

Joshua 1:6-9; Ecclesiastes 7:2-5; Romans 12:3; 2 Corinthians 7:5-10; James 4:9-10