(Re)Defining Success


Ezekiel 2:1-10

Confession time: I am a perfectionist. Tasks that I have to do can be daunting at times because I really want to complete them in the right way, down to the smallest detail. I want my vision to be perfectly expressed in my work. Even the simplest of tasks can take me a while because I am concerned to make sure that every aspect of the task is perfect. Along with my perfectionism, I am failure-averse. If I know that I am not going to succeed at something, I do not want even to try it. I do not mind taking a chance, but I want to do all the prep work to give myself every chance at success. Failure is not an option.
It would be difficult for me to do the work that the Lord lays before Ezekiel in his call to service. God does not send Ezekiel on a mission destined for success, and that is clear from the beginning. Ezekiel is supposed to go to a “rebellious” and “stubborn” people, words which are used about nine times in this section. Basically, God tells Ezekiel that the people are not going to listen to him, that they will rebel against his words, and that they just might attack him for it. Then we learn that Ezekiel’s task is even harder because the words which he is to proclaim are words of “lamentation and mourning and woe” (2:10). People in general do not like hearing depressing news, much less people who already are primed for rebellion against such news. Ezekiel’s mission is doomed from the start, and everybody knows it.
Or is it? Sure, we know that his words are not destined to change the hearts and minds of the Israelites. Sure, we know that Israel is not inclined to listen, regardless of what Ezekiel might have to say. Still, the Lord twice tells Ezekiel that his concern is not the success or failure of the words to bring about the desired change in the people of Israel. Ezekiel’s concern is only to speak the word of God, “whether they hear or refuse to hear” (2:5, 7). If he will speak the words which God has given to him, then he will have fulfilled the work which the Lord assigned to him. The rest is up to the people and to God. Ezekiel need not worry about the results, but only about the task before him.
I think that this is an important reminder for us. We have been given the work of spreading the word of God as well, but I think that we sometimes are intimidated by that task. We worry that we will not say it effectively, that the people will not respond to it, that they might attack us for it, and ultimately, that we will fail in the work which God has given to us. We want to hear, “Well done, good and faithful servant,” not “Why did you not bring in more people,” so we think better not to start at all if we cannot succeed. (Ask the third servant in Matthew 25 how well that works.) The truth is that it is not our responsibility to make sure that the word of God is effective. We have to make sure that we faithfully convey that word (twisting it simply will not do); but if we have done that, as Ezekiel did, then the rest is up to the people and to God. We know that we speak to a rebellious world, so we should not be surprised if they do not respond. Their fate will be on their own heads. As for the word of God, he is able to make sure that it does not return to him empty; it will accomplish that which God purposes (Isa 55:10-11).
So, go and speak the word of God without fear of failure! God will reward you for that work, whether the people hear or refuse to hear. At the very least, the people will have heard the word of God and they will know that his servant has been among them. -TL

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