Herbert Simon (1978 Nobel Prize for contribution to organizational decision-making) said it is impossible to have perfect and complete information at any given time to make a decision.
It is pretty much a given that we are going to make mistakes! The fact that we seldom if ever have all of the information makes it all the more inevitable.
So what do you do when you make a mistake? What can you do to prevent mistakes, to minimize the damage of your mistakes, and successfully move beyond your mistakes?
In Joshua 9, Joshua makes a huge mistake that will haunt Israel for many generations. The Gibeonites trick him into making a treaty with them.
Fearing that the Israelites will wipe them out as they continue the conquest of the Promised Land, the Gibeonites pretend to be from a distant land. They show up with worn-out sacks on their donkeys and old wineskins, cracked and mended. They are wearing old, patched sandals and threadbare clothing. Their bread is dry and crumbly.
Joshua quizzes them but fails to see through their deception. A treaty is signed. Three days later Joshua discovers he has been tricked.
The first lesson we can learn from this passage is: avoid being tricked. Sometimes it is not so much what we do as what we do not do that causes all of our problems. In verse 14 we read, “Then the men of Israel took some of their provisions, but did not seek the LORD’s counsel.”
Joshua thought he had all the facts he needed to make a good decision. This is where we can also go wrong. As Herbert Simon said above, we never have all of the facts. We are not as smart as we think we are. In addition, the Bible says that Satan disguises himself as an angel of light (2 Cor. 11:14). He will do everything he can to convince us we have all the facts AND will distort the facts we do have.
To avoid being tricked, we should always seek God’s counsel (pray before any major decision), give God time to point out any deception, and recognize that Satan can easily deceive us.
Once Joshua has been tricked, the next potential mistake revolves around how he responds to being tricked. He musters his troops and marches to the Gibeonite cities. The Israelites want to destroy the cities but Joshua won’t let them. He reminds them of the oath they had sworn “before the LORD.” To violate the oath and destroy the Gibeonites would be to take the name of God in vain.
This leads us to the second lesson from this passage: limit the damage caused by your mistake. Seldom if ever do two wrongs make a right. What Joshua does here is a sure sign of a good leader.
Instead of destroying the Gibeonites, Joshua recruits them as woodcutters and water carriers. He takes a mistake and uses it in such a way as to benefit the community.
And so should we. The next time you make a mistake think about how you can minimize the damage. Think about how you can give it a positive spin. What benefit can be had from your mistake? You will be amazed by what God can do with your mistakes if you will only give Him a chance.
A number of years after this incident with the Gibeonites, Joshua stands before the Israelites. He reminds them of the story of the conquest of the land and challenges them to choose whom they will serve – the god of the Amorites in whose land they were living or the god of their fathers. He then sums up his speech with these words in Joshua 24:15, “As for me and my family, we will worship the LORD.”
The third and final lesson from this passage is this: continue to serve the LORD. Joshua did not let his mistake get in the way of his total devotion to God. As a result, God continued to use him throughout the duration of his life.
Satan will do anything he can to seduce you away from serving God. One of his favorite weapons is your attitude towards your mistakes. When Christians make mistakes they feel like God can no longer use them, like they are no longer qualified to serve Him.
What you need to keep in mind is that you were never qualified in the first place. You didn’t present God with your resume and demand a position in His kingdom. Romans 12:1 reminds us that everything we are and do is “by the mercies of God.”
If you think that God only blesses what you do that is right, you don’t really understand all that God has done for you. God specializes in taking what is bad and making it good. This is what he does with you and me every day of our lives. So why would He not do this with our mistakes?
It is not so much your mistakes as it is your attitude towards your mistakes that takes you out of the game of life. So learn from your mistakes, limit the damage caused by your mistakes and let God continue to use you through your mistakes.
You will continue to make mistakes. The key to a fulfilling life is what you do with your mistakes.
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