‘He had failed to find the source of the Nile; he had failed to put an end to the slave trade…. He had failed as a husband and a father.’ In Elspeth Huxley’s view David Livingstone was an all-round failure. Another conclusion might be that DL had directed attention to Africa and fired up the worldwide mission of the Church. ‘He had opened the heart of Africa as it had never been opened before.’ That was the opinion of Bishop Stephen Neill, a historian of the 19th century missionary movement. The word ‘missionary’ has now been discarded and replace by the vapid neologism ‘missional’ but that missionary endeavour should not be downplayed.
Is it possible that both these views may be true? Life is rarely a matter of black and white. And when we find ourselves dismayed by failure or buoyed up by success we do well to remember Kipling’s diagnosis of triumph and disasters. He described them as those two impostors. Better perhaps to regard them as part of the raw material of life, customary events we have to deal with. There is much to be said for remaining on an even keel, for being undaunted rather than dismayed and self-deprecating when we have done well. These might be described as characteristically English virtues.
If we remember that Paul was stoned at Lystra, imprisoned in Philippi and ship-wrecked in Malta, we may well ask whether success ever came his way. It did, of course, in terms of loyal support in Ephesus and, post-mortem, a huge response to his writings and a profound effect on the history of Europe. But it is reasonable to think of him regarding himself not as incurring triumph or disaster but carrying out a commission given to him by his sovereign lord. ‘Well done, good and faithful servant’ is the verdict that really matters. This is how Paul looked at it in Philippians 4.12,13. And remember that Paul has more to say on his hard times, in 2 Corinthians 11,23-27.
Of course, we should not aim to fail. We should not go looking for trouble. But failure and troubles occur. And we should be careful about basking in success. We should conduct ourselves as we are advised to do in Ephesians 6.6 and Colossians 3.22. And we should do so as those who enjoy the saving grace of God in Christ.
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