Tolstoy’s Three Questions – Reflections (1)

  

“It once occurred to a certain king, that if he always knew the right time to begin everything; if he knew who were the right people to listen to, and whom to avoid; and, above all, if he always knew what was the most important thing to do, he would never fail in anything he might undertake.”

 

Thus begins Tolstoy’s short story, Three Questions. What do you think of the three questions? What do you think of the king’s motive for wanting to know the answers to the three questions?

 

If you’ve read the story, which I hope you have, what do you think of its ending?

 

“Remember then: there is only one time that is important— Now! It is the most important time because it is the only time when we have any power. The most necessary man is he with whom you are, for no man knows whether he will ever have dealings with anyone else: and the most important affair is, to do him good, because for that purpose alone was man sent into this life!”

 

I enjoyed this little story. I admire good short story writers and tellers, to be able to draw a listener into a succinct and tight storyline, to take the reader on a journey, and to leave an impression, with no wasted words or actions, this is masterful. Let us note that not only did Tolstoy write short stories, but he also wrote War and Peace!

 

As with many others, I can think of no greater short stories than The Prodigal Son and the Good Samaritan. The Master is indeed the Master of the short story.

 

What of the first paragraph? What do you think?

 

What was the king’s motive in wanting the answers to the three questions? Is the motive realistic? Is it desirable?

 

If Tolstoy had written, “The king sought the answers to the three questions so that he might be a better king, serving his people,” then I’d have a different take on the king’s motive, and while that may indeed have been the motive underlying the stated motive of never failing, we’ll simply consider the motive of never failing because we don’t know anything for sure beyond what is written.

 

I’m reminded of Solomon asking God for wisdom so that he might better serve God’s people; but I’m also reminded that, having received great wisdom from God, Solomon led his people into idolatry. When we fail to hold the gifts of God in trust as stewards, when we start to think that we are owners of God’s gifts and may do with them as we please, then we have embarked on a slippery slope and both we and others will pay a price.

 

Isn’t failure one of the building blocks of life and learning? Don’t we, or at least shouldn’t we, learn when things go awry? Is not character forged in both suffering and failure?

 

Furthermore, perhaps there is a complexity to failure that we fail to appreciate. Perhaps there are times when failure is not failure, but a prelude to victory, to overcoming, to attaining a goal.

 

If I am a leader who never fails, then I am missing opportunities to teach my people how to work through failure. If I am a parent who hides his failures from his children, then I am forfeiting opportunities for my children to learn how to handle disappointment and setbacks. When is the last time you heard a politician, church leader, academic leader, business leader, or other prominent figure admit failure and mistakes (not to mention wrongdoing!) and ask forgiveness if appropriate (before they are called to account – which is seldom)?

 

Lincoln saved the Union, but not before a resume of failure after failure.

 

Churchill saved Britian, and in saving Britian likely saved democracy, but not before failures in the Admiralty in WWI, early WWII, and in his political life, living in what is known as his Wilderness Years in which he was blackballed from the BBC. Not all of Winston’s failures turned out to be failures, for example, while his warnings about Hitler resulted in ostracization from those in power, and therefore were considered political failure, they later made him one of the few politicians with credibility when his warnings proved to be all too true.

 

When we think we see failure, we may very well be looking at a prelude to victory. Our eyesight is often not very good.

 

The Apostle Paul had a long resume of apparent failure, just review 2 Corinthians 6:4 – 10 and 11:23 – 29, and let’s not forget 2 Timothy 1:15; this is hardly a recitation of success. How many people, Christian or otherwise, thought that this man, executed by Rome, would still be leading and guiding the People of Christ 2,000 years later through his divinely inspired writing and the example of his life?

 

I recall, in my business career, spending about $35,000.00 of a client’s funds, with his approval, in an attempt to find a solution to a complex mechanical problem. Had we been successful it would have been “a game changer,” to use the client’s own words. However, not only was the attempt unsuccessful, it was a logistical mess and took longer to complete than we had anticipated. I looked at the attempt as a failure.

 

A few months after the project, I said to the client, “Looking back, I’m sorry we made the attempt.”

 

With a surprised look he said to me, “O no Bob, don’t think like that. It wasn’t a failure. Look at everything we learned, and it cleared the way for us to make better decisions.”

 

No wonder this man was a leader in not only business, but also in the philanthropic and political communities of our region and nation. To him, the only possible failure was a failure to learn.

 

While most of us don’t associate C. S. Lewis with failure, we may be surprised to learn that while he held the position of Fellow, and tutored at Oxford University from 1925 – 1954, that he was never elected to a full professorship. He only became a full professor when Cambridge University created a special position just for him. As with Paul, this is a reminder that failure is not necessarily a matter of fault, it may be the result of unrighteous opposition or of other elements.

 

From time to time I’ll use baseball as an illustration, so here we go again. The best batters in baseball make more outs than they get hits and walks. They fail to get on base more times than they get on base. Every player in the Hall of Fame made more outs than they got hits. Yet, in the Hall of Fame they are enshrined as the best of the best.

 

For the man or women who follows Jesus Christ, life is not a matter of success or failure, it is a matter of loving God and others, a matter of living in Christ and doing His will (Mark 12:29 – 31; John 15:12 – 14; 1 John 3:16).  When we love God and others and obey Christ there will be times when apparent failure will be the outcome, for our guide is Christ and not the idol of success or even of self-preservation.

 

I lost the best job I ever had because I told the truth about a situation. But could it have really been the “best job” if, in order to keep it, I had to keep my mouth shut? Was my inability to keep my job a failure?

 

Is it better to fail doing the right thing, or to succeed doing the wrong thing?

 

These are just some thoughts, some ponderings; they are meant to stimulate thinking and exploration.

 

Perhaps the only real failure is the failure to learn and grow in character.

 

What lessons have you learned from failure?