“Who can understand his errors? Cleanse me from secret faults.” Psalm 19:12 NKJV.

Good friends can help you; God’s Word will guide you.

My thoughts and comments today are about “errors and faults.”

Mistakes are a part of life, made by imperfect people in an imperfect world. “No one can see his own errors; deliver me, Lord, from hidden faults! Keep me safe, also, from willful sins.” Psalm 19:12-13 TEV. Try to avoid mistakes when possible, manage them when they occur, and always learn from them because you will make others. May your mistakes be small, quickly remedied, and cause no loss to you or others.

Let me share a few practical things I have learned from mistakes, which I admit have not been infrequent. Serving in a conspicuous and public position, my errors of judgment have not gone unnoticed, but thankfully have usually been viewed with understanding – even grace and forgiveness from God and people. Mistakes are not permanent or final unless you allow them to be.

Don’t be afraid of making a mistake. Fearing mistakes is the surest way to make one. You will make mistakes, small and large. No one can prevent every mistake, but you should be clear about obvious choices of right and wrong. “Anyone then, who knows the good he ought to do and doesn’t do it, sins.” James 4:17 NIV. Better that your mistakes are errors of judgment, rather than failure of character. Character failures are far worse.

Admit your mistakes. Why try to hide them? That never works well. See Proverbs 28:13-14 NLT. Remove any pretension that you are incapable of making them. A mistake is rarely any surprise to those who know you well, and doesn’t typically matter to those who don’t. Failure to admit your mistake is a vain attempt to preserve an illusion that you are incapable of being wrong. Sadly, that is not true of any of us. Why waste valuable time acting as though it is? The quickest way to correct an error is to recognize it, learn, and move on.

Learn from your mistakes. It is said that mistakes are often the price of progress. “Learn from science. In science mistakes always precede the discovery of truth.” Author William Saroyan. It is not how few or many mistakes you make that matters; it is how few or many times you make the same mistakes again. Learn from your failures so as not to repeat them. Good friends will help you; God’s Word will guide you. Read Psalm 119:9-11 NKJV. Welcome honest input from others you trust, valuing their objectivity, experience, and advice. See Proverbs 19:20-21 NIV. No one can make decisions for you, but the best decisions will include wise counsel. See Proverbs 11:14 NKJV.

Mistakes always cost somebody something. Limit them when you can, and correct them quickly when they occur. Don’t be cavalier about your own mistakes as though they don’t matter; they matter to someone. If you depreciate their seriousness, you will not be as careful to avoid them. Be more generous with others’ mistakes than you allow for your own. Don’t be casual about them. Humility and honesty are the best way forward.

My prayer for you today is that you learn from your mistakes and rise above every failure.