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| Getting Motivated series |


* What’s Our Motivation?
* What if I’m Not the Best?
* What If I Don’t Succeed? (Fear of Failure)
* How Does God Define Success?







Inadequacy vs. Fear of Failure



In our struggle for motivation, a lot of things can stand in our way. Not least of which is fear, particularly the fear of failure. We all feel it, and to be honest, it’s a fairly rational fear. The reality of this world is that even if we try our hardest, even if we are diligent and thoughtful, failure may still find us. This is because of a very simple truth, so many things are outside of our control, even important things. We can do everything right with regards to the inputs (our efforts) and still find that the outputs (the results) are nevertheless lacking.



In this series on Getting Motivated, we talked last time about how to overcome feelings of inadequacy that can hold us back, gaining insight from the Parable of the Talents. If I could characterize the difference between feelings of inadequacy and a fear of failure it would be with a similar description: When we feel inadequate, we feel we’re not able to provide the needed inputs; when we feel a fear of failure, we fear that even with the proper inputs we still won’t achieve the output/results we want. Whereas the servant with two talents taught us how to respond to feelings of inadequacy last time, I saw answers to our struggle against the fear of failure in the story of the servant with just one talent.



The Servant with Only One Talent



In the Parable of the Talents, the master of the house gave talents to his servants based on their ability before going on a journey. To one he gave five, to another two, and to the third he gave just one talent. The first two servants worked hard with what they were entrusted, trading with them to make a return. The third servant, however, didn’t follow their example but “went and dug in the ground and hid his master’s money”. But… Why?



Why did he do this? He explains his reasoning when he’s asked to give an account for what was entrusted to him:



“Master, I knew you to be a hard man, reaping where you did not sow, and gathering where you scattered no seed, so I was afraid, and I went and hid your talent in the ground. Here, you have what is yours.” (Matthew 25:24-25, emphasis added)



Notice how he said, “so I was afraid”. In a way, what he’s describing here is a fear of failure. More particularly, because this statement follows his description o...