One thing that I really liked about my company is that we encourage people to make mistakes. Let me clarify what I meant by that. It’s not that we want them to do stupid things, we want them to do their best and understand that making mistakes is part of innovation and development as these are very good learning opportunities.
One of the bosses that I respect in my company shared one of his mistakes in one of our department's team meetings. He shared that in early 2000 he launched a project for a mobile app. It seemed like a brilliant idea at the time except that the mobile phones that can access the app cost $2000 at the time, which resulted to an extremely low app usage as compared to their projected usage.
Some people thought that the cost of investment for launching the app was all lost, but it became an important research and development investment. The experience taught them how to do a better market analysis before they launch a project no matter how amazing a project may be. The app also became the foundation of the mobile apps that our clients use today.
What I’m really reiterating in this devotional is that it’s okay to make mistakes. If you don’t make mistakes, that means you’re not innovating. If you’re not innovating, then that means you’d be left out. You’d become irrelevant in your industry in the long run.
What does the Bible say about mistakes?
Proverbs 24:16
New International Version (NIV)
16
for though the righteous fall seven times, they rise again,
but the wicked stumble when calamity strikes.
The Bible didn’t say that wise people do not make mistakes, it even tells us that wise people commit mistakes a lot. However, when they fall, they rise. When they commit a mistake, they learn from it and try again. We should do the same thing. Trial and error are a learning process.
Let’s look at the story of Joseph:
Genesis 37:5-8
New International Version (NIV)
5 Joseph had a dream, and when he told it to his brothers, they hated him all the more. 6 He said to them, “Listen to this dream I had: 7 We were binding sheaves of grain out in the field when suddenly my sheaf rose and stood upright, while your sheaves gathered around mine and bowed down to it.”
8 His brothers said to him, “Do you intend to reign over us? Will you actually rule us?” And they hated him all the more because of his dream and what he had said.
A lot of scholars think that Joseph made a mistake of sharing his dreams with his brothers. Some preachers even teach that when we have a vision that came from God, we should only share it with people that will support us in achieving this goal.
If we think about it, being sold into slavery played an important part in the completion of Joseph’s vision.
Genesis 50:20
International Version (NIV)
20 You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives.
God used Joseph’s mistake and aligned it with His plan. Joseph should have kept his mouth shut but he didn’t, and that mistake triggered God’s plan to come into action.
Mistakes are common. When you try new things or when you aim for the progress you will make mistakes. Making a mistake is not failing. Like Joseph, our mistake may make it seem that we failed, but if we stay in faith and don’t quit, we will see God’s plan come to pass. And it will be awesome!
I hope you learned something from this devotional story and please browse the website for more encouraging devotional stories like this.
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