Freedom to Fail: Pursuit of Happiness

Freedom to Fail: Pursuit of Happiness

Written by: Dave DeRose

“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness.”

-Declaration of Independence

                Without bravery to exercise freedom, we become lackluster drones moved by every slight breeze that passes. Always moving with the wind, never standing out. It takes a ferocious desire to dream and to act on that dream in order to experience the benefits of true freedom. It is incredibly more common, however, for fear to drown dreams. This can manifest itself in a variety of ways. It could be that we are trapped in our minds with thoughts of self-doubt, concerns about how others view us, dwelling on the past or fixating too much on the future. There could be a dream that's in need to be accomplished, but waiting for the perfect circumstances to take action beats out giving it a shot. In thinking such thoughts, we are mentally oppressing ourselves from realizing our true capacity for freedom. It is through freedom that we may attain happiness.

                In the United States Declaration of Independence, the three unalienable rights are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness. This is a clear indication of how the Founding Fathers viewed Freedom. We are given life and liberty, but then we must pursue happiness. Happiness is a byproduct of courageous risk-taking actions. If we do not exercise this skill, we are not being nourished by the freedom or liberty we are endowed with by God. In not being bold and pursuing happiness, we become slaves to inaction. We sit on the sidelines of our lives, not truly free. We exist in limbo, unattached from the life God wants for use.

“Freedom is not worth having if it doesn’t include the freedom to make mistakes.”

-Mahatma Gandhi

                One reason why we are guilty of not pursuing happiness through our God-given right of liberty is because we are emotionally paralyzed. If we are filled with self-doubt, we will lack the confidence to venture out of our comfort zone. If we are concerned about how others view us, we will never truly be ourselves, and if we're never ourselves, how can we claim to be free? If we are stuck dwelling in the past, we close ourselves off to any new possible future. If we are too focused on the future, we may miss God’s calling on our life. Lastly, if we rationalize not acting because the circumstances aren’t ideal, we caution ourselves away from experiencing God’s potential for our life, like a kid standing on the edge of a pool afraid to jump in because, when he sticks his toe in, the water's cold. Don’t deny yourself the joy of swimming in life. 

“I have prayed for you that your feet may not fail . . . . I tell you, Peter, the rooster will not crow until you deny three times that you know me.” (Luke 22: 32-34 NIV)

Jesus’ point is, even in spite of Peter's forthcoming failure, that He still hopes and prays he will continue to act. It is important to know that Jesus does the same for us. He wants our feet to not fail us in the face of failure. Why do we struggle so much with failure? The root cause is simply that we don’t want to fail.  We especially don’t want others to see us fail. What we need to realize and remember is that failing and freedom go hand in hand.  We have the freedom to act, which often results in failure. Failure’s gift is experience. Experience allows us to learn about ourselves,  our strengths, weaknesses, and delivers the knowledge we need to succeed the next time. If we don’t exercise our freedom through action, we will be missing out on the path God desires for us. We need to change our perception of what failure is; failure is a gift. It's important to our growth both in life and in our walk with God.

“Peter said, ‘Man, I do not know what you are talking about.’ And immediately, while he was still speaking, the rooster crowed. And the Lord turned and looked at Peter. And Peter remembered the saying of the Lord, how he had said to him, ‘Before the rooster crows today, you will deny me three times. And he went out and wept bitterly.”  (Luke 22: 60-62 NIV)

Often times, what we perceive to be a failure can often be a blessing. Nobody understands this better than Peter. When Peter denied Jesus, I bet he thought he had failed in epic proportions.  How could he ever recover from such an egregious failure? Yet he became one of the most influential individuals in the Christian faith. God has a plan for our failures. If Peter hadn’t understood failure, he may not have achieved what he did. His failure gave him strength for what came next.

“But Peter, standing with the eleven, lifted up his voice and addressed them.” Acts 1: 14 NIV

The passage above is the first time the gospel of Jesus was preached.  And who was to deliver this monumental sermon? Peter.  The same Peter that failed Jesus by denying him three times. In this action, of preaching about Jesus, Peter shows his unwavering faith. It is in this moment he becomes free. He has started on the path that God has set out for him, and what a glorious path it was. On the day of that first sermon, around 3,000 people where baptized in the name of Jesus Christ. It was through Peter acting, choosing to speak, that he experienced true freedom. The courage it took for him to "[lift] up his voice" was immeasurable. He was, in the eyes of all his peers, blaspheming. An act punishable by death. Yet, in the face of it all, he chose to act, to show faith, and, in doing so expressed his God given freedom.

                God gives us freedom, which includes the freedom to make mistakes. He did this so that, through choice, we may experience happiness.  In order to be blessed by lessons from such mistakes and failures, we must first act, and not let our feet fail. Put our faith and trust in God. We must step out of the boat into the troubled waters and experience freedom through faith and action. So why should we do that thing we feel compelled to do today? Because we are free to. Let us act today, and see what God has in store for us.