Over a year ago an event happened that changed the course of the summer for the Williams family. While our daughter was attending school a teacher accidentally closed the door on my daughter’s hand and broke her finger.
What made it so bad was this was the teacher’s first day on the job!
We were almost as sad for the teacher as we were for our daughter because we could see the pain and anguish she felt from making a mistake. Thankfully our daughter has healed completely and I am sure the teacher learned a valuable lesson as well.
This is a powerful illustration of a principle I have come to know and experience. That mistakes and blunders are life’s greatest learning tools.
The teacher will probably make various mistakes in life but one thing she will not do is close the door without making sure that no children are in the path. Mistakes and blunders have a way of teaching us things that successes rarely do.
Working in urban ministry and church ministry has its share of challenges and risks, especially working with the poor. Just having returned from CCDA, an urban ministry conference emphasizing mercy and justice, I was struck by the amount of great men and women of God I met with who made gross mistakes in ministry.
From patronizing to wrong philosophy to moral failure there was a litany of brokenness and mistakes. But it seemed to me as I engaged with them in dialogue they were some of the most humble, most learned folks. They were the risk takers who made things happen. They created programs, they planted churches, they raised up indigenous leaders, yet they all made mistakes.
With so many books being written on the right way to do ministry, and the vast amount of material available on urban philosophy and methodology, one would think it is a ministry for perfection and perfect people. Folks are simply scared to say a mumbling word or get involved for fear they will do it wrong.
I happen to know people who quickly offer critique of how many things the ministry I am involved is messing up. While I certainly want to always be humble and teachable, can I confess I don’t really care if I mess up?
I mean who doesn’t make mistakes and mess things up? Doesn’t our God use broken, imperfect people to carry out His plan so that no human may boast in His presence or receive glory from the work He is doing?
Now I am not talking about throwing caution to the wind and not taking into consideration the wisdom of others. I am not talking about being a bull in a china shop and doing whatever you please at the expense of others. But what I am saying is that we will all make mistakes and I don’t think that is the end of the world.
In order to make an impact you must take certain risks and be willing to repent when things go awry. In fact it is when I have made the biggest errors that I learned the most. It is when I have screwed up royally that the greatest opportunities for repentance present themselves and the deepest relationships have developed.
We will all blunder and close the door at the wrong time. People will get hurt. We will alienate others along the way. You cannot appease everyone.
But what is the alternative? To do nothing.
I refuse to stand at the judgment seat of Christ when I am to give account of Matthew 25 and tell Him I was scared to mess up so I never got involved. I will take risks. I will motivate others to jump in without a life vest. And God will always be faithful to work His preordained plan and cause all things to work together for good.
In conclusion it is important to listen to others. It is valuable to heed the warnings and learn to do good. But you won’t gain life’s greatest lessons by doing everything perfect. You will fail and when you do be willing to repent and humble yourself. Be willing to forgive and reconcile with those accusers.
The alternative is avoiding mistakes by doing nothing at all. One who makes no mistakes never makes anything happen. Some of God’s greatest works have come through imperfect people making grievous errors. He is sovereign and controls the final outcome. Trust in Him and don’t be afraid to fail. Failures are God’s tool to create deeper dependency and trust in Him. They are God’s reminder that we are all imperfect people serving a perfect God.
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