Mistakes happen even with the best of intentions. And naturally we feel bad when this happens on our watch. But we must be careful in these moments not to let understandable regrets turn into self-condemnation and shame.
By definition, an accident is something that wasn’t intentional or malicious. It’s simply an unfortunate incident that happened unexpectedly, which usually results in damage or injury.
For instance, this might be an auto or workplace accident, unintentionally saying something that hurts someone’s feelings, or inadvertently taking an action, or forgetting to do something, that causes harm to another.
Whatever it looks like, we’re human and it’s within our nature to make many mistakes.
Of course, this does not dissolve us of our responsibility. Perhaps we should’ve been more careful, attentive, thoughtful, or the like. And there’s an appropriate level of guilt, regret, and need for amends when our neglect set the conditions for the accident to take place.
All the same, it was still an accident and this doesn’t make us a bad person, only human. And remembering this allows us to resist the lies of the evil one, who is quick to pounce on these moments and accuse us of all sorts of falsehoods that are no longer true of our redeemed hearts.
Feeling bad for a costly mistake is not the same as believing the lie that we’re no longer worthy of love and belonging. Our true dignity and place in Christ are not diminished even when we lose face for a moment.
In fact, we’re prone to cause more damage when we believe this lie, as our shame now holds us back from freely offering ourselves and seeking to make an impact for good.
In the end, accidents happen. Eat your humble pie with grace – remembering this does not rob you of your worth, dignity, or responsibility to still bring more life and goodness into the world.
Photo by Nick Karvounis on Unsplash
