Let's be honest we all make mistakes. We all screw up from time to time, I think what is important is that we take the time and put our screw-ups in perspective, learn from them and then impart that knowledge to others in order that they might be saved from the same mistakes and failures.
So let's get started:
1. Listen to, trust and follow the advice of Godly friends.
This seems pretty straight forward, seems like simple advice but when you have your mind set on something it is extremely hard to go through with it. Trust me if you are in a situation you do not need to be in and a friend calls you out on it, listen to the advice and follow it.
Some advice for those godly friends, sometimes simply calling the person out isn't enough, recognize the severity of the situation and take action. I think we can glean wisdom from Matthew 18 although the situation speaks of a situation where one persons sins against another but it I feel the same principles apply: 1) Call this person out. 2) Take someone else with you that is concerned and feels the need to confront this issue. 3) Seek the help of many, if this person is in a position of leadership, speak to those who are over him/her.
2. Understand that you can lie to yourself and deceive yourself to the point of completely changing your belief system. Something you would have ran from now doesn't look so bad. Something that doesn't look so bad now looks quite good. It takes some time to deceive yourself into believing bad is good and it also takes some time convincing yourself that this thing you perceive to be good is actually bad.
3. Honesty is the best policy. Especially for those in a position of leadership or authority. People look to you and trust you, sometimes they trust you more than the average person, they trust you precisely because you are simply in that position of authority. Again if you are a person in leadership or under the leadership of someone, be honest. Be honest before you mess up so that way you might avoid a huge disaster.
4. If you do mess up, see point 3. If you mess up remember honesty is the best policy. Coach Warwick had a saying for us when we were in high school:
Mess up, Fess up, Get up, and Move on.
- Recognize that you messed up, acknowledge your mistake.
- Confess your mistake/sin/failure to God, to the person you hurt, ask for forgiveness, give forgiveness, and remember to forgive yourself.
- Get up start living in the present, stop dwelling on the past, move on to other things.
5. I think point four ties into this one: Realize that your failure or mistake doesn't mean the world is coming to an end. It's not worth you hurting yourself or others over. Move on, seek God, seek the council of wise people and godly people.
6. Above all remember: God is the Great Redeemer, there is a redemptive-spirit to the text of Scripture. He is in the business of redeeming us as human beings and also redeeming creation. Failures can be redeemed, I am not saying that things go back to normal but you will learn from your mistakes and move on and sometimes it is better to learn from others in order that you do not have to walk that same destructive road as they did.
I guess the main point I am trying to convey is that the advice of friends is extremely important. We all fail, but just because we fail doesn't mean our life is over. God redeems.
All for the glory of God,
Grace and Peace.
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