Costly Mistakes

Game One of the NBA Finals was full of drama, battles, bad calls and mistakes. BIG mistakes. The Cleveland Cavaliers were the biggest underdog in at least 16 years for this game. Yet, with 4.7 seconds left on the clock, George Hill (Former Spur-now-Cav) stood at the free throw line. Gets the first one; misses the second. Confusion begins. JR Smith rebounds the ball and instead of firing up a shot that could have given Cleveland the victory, he dribbled toward center court. Game over. Ugh. The pesky Gold State Warriors win in OT 124-114.

Mistakes can be costly. Just ask JR Smith. He seemed to be the talk-of-the-twitter-town on Friday morning. Smith’s folly seemed to overshadow the amazing 51 points scored by LeBron James. It even seemed to take center stage over the Warrior’s win! Everyone was talking about Smith’s mistake.

In this day and age where our mistakes can be seen, heard, felt and told to all, it might be helpful to pause and ask ourselves these questions: How does it feel to me personally when I make a mistake? How do I feel when others know I make a mistake? Do I feel shame, blame or less than as a person? Let’s flip things. How do I treat others when they make a mistake? For example: How are my interactions with the waiter/waitress when my dinner is overcooked? When the driver in front of me makes a mistake? When I’m talking to a customer service rep and dissatisfied with the service? Wow. From the looks of it, we all need to give everyone (including ourselves) a ton of grace! 

In the Bible, there were a lot of great people who made a lot of big mistakes. Let’s take Simon Peter. He’s a dude I look forward to meeting in heaven. I relate to Peter… a lot! Even with Jesus’ prediction that Peter would deny Jesus three times, Peter vehemently said there’d be no way he would do such a thing! Peter loved Jesus and was loyal to Jesus. How could he do such a thing?  Boom! Peter denied Jesus. The cool thing about this story is that Jesus forgave Peter. Peter repented and reaffirmed his faith and went on to share God’s good news even more passionately until his death.

Yes, the Bible is filled with stories of people that mess up, just like us. It’s sometimes in these moments when we feel so bad, that we turn to God. The Lord longs to teach us some of His greatest lessons as we humble ourselves and realize our need. When I’m in these weak moments of “mistake making” it is there that I can find God’s great mercy, hope and forgiveness. 

“May we rush to Jesus quicker than we rush to judgment today.” Scotty Smith

“One must never forget when misfortunes come that it is quite possible they are saving one from something much worse; or that when you make some great mistake, it may very easily serve you better than the best-advised decision.” Winston Churchill

Nancy Abbott is the Chaplain for the YMCA of Greater San Antonio.