Everybody makes mistakes. We forget birthdays or anniversaries. We don’t leave ourselves enough time to account for traffic and so we’re late to a meeting. We misread a note from school and don’t show up for a parent meeting. We make mistakes because we’re people.
To be clear, though, there is a difference between “sin” and “mistakes.” While both have consequences and both affect people other than ourselves, one is mainly willful, the other is accidental. One is malicious, the other is more innocent. When we think about the gospel, we primarily think about it in terms of sin. And thank God the gospel has something to say about that – that because of the good news of Jesus Christ, we can be forgiven for our sins. But let’s not sell the gospel short.
If the gospel is really the center of our lives and not some ancillary piece, relegated to Sundays and the occasional heartfelt moment of gratitude of sorrow, then the gospel has something to say about our mistakes as well. And thank God it does. So what might the gospel say to you if you make a mistake today? Here are seven ideas:
1. When you make a mistake, you make an error in judgment or a moment of forgetfulness.
The gospel reminds you that your self-worth is not tied to your ability to perform perfectly.
2. When you make a mistake, you are tempted to hide, blame, or ignore.
The gospel gives you the confidence you need to own up to it and accept responsibility.
3. When you make a mistake, you start to focus on yourself, thinking that the whole world is looking at you.
The gospel reminds you that you are not the center of the universe – Jesus Christ is.
4. When you make a mistake, you find yourself wanting to do anything you can to avoid the potential of failure.
The gospel encourages you to take risks instead of burying your talents in the dirt.
5. When you are around someone who has made a mistake, you can easily slip into judgment in order to make yourself feel better.
The gospel reminds you that you have the responsibility to fulfill the law of Christ by bearing another’s burden.
6. When you make a mistake, you look for ways to redeem yourself in the eyes of your bosses and peers.
The gospel reminds you that you have nothing to prove to anyone since Christ has proven Himself on your behalf.
7. When you make a mistake, you become afraid. Afraid of what people think, afraid of doing something wrong, afraid of the consequences.
The gospel drives out fear with perfect love.
Don’t confine the gospel to one area of life, friends. Embrace its permeating effect, and live all of life in light of the good news of Jesus.
Subscribe to MichaelKelley.co
Never miss a new post. Subscribe to receive these posts in your inbox and to receive information about new discipleship resources.
Amen, brother. Great wisdom on how to deal with mistakes. To take that a bit further, the challenge after realizing #1-7 is that we also have to forgive those who do not forgive us (if our mistake impacted others) and to defend our hearts against follow-on attacks.
Thanks for this.
This is good.
I’d read Jason Dietz’s blog this week and he’d said this and I was reminded of it when I read your blog today:
We do not demand perfection from the great heroes of Biblical history. They were flawed, but God was working on and through them. The same is true for us. We are to hold each other accountable and help each other grow, but the legalist tears people apart. They do not build up.
http://nonmodern.blogspot.com/2009/06/galatians-513-15-christian-cannibalism.html
I have see you follow through in faith this week. I love living life alongside you.
Good stuff….I love Lewis’ view on false humility in our mistakes the picture shown by Edmond and Aslan in the Chronicles, where the White Witch is coming to get him and Edmond is looking to Aslan, the idea is that he’s not scared, not ashamed, not fearful, not even the slightest bit focused on himself, just looking to his Savior. “Humility is not thinking less of yourself but thinking of yourself less” (C.S. Lewis)