I recently got to hear John Maxwell speak at a leadership symposium. He started by telling of the dumb things he has done. He told about getting a gift of a beautiful handgun (even thought he was not a big gun fan) and then someone asked him if he knew how to load it. Before John knew it, the gun was loaded and he put it in his briefcase and forgot about it.
He forgot about it until he was going through US airport security! As his bag was going through screening he pointed at the X-ray machine and said “Oh, there’s a loaded gun in there!” As you can imagine, John Maxwell spent more that a few hours in security explaining his way out of that dumb mistake.
His story reminded me of one of the dumb things that I did while on tour. When I was nineteen years old, I was in a Christian band that was playing in a Poland. Most of our concerts were in large Catholic Cathedrals but one evening we found ourselves playing at a Polish Night Club. After we finished playing, the band spread out in the club and struck up conversations with different patrons to talk about Jesus.
I ended up at a table with six people who were there to celebrate a birthday. They had smuggled in Polish Vodka and as we talked they kept filling up my glass. I grew up in a family that never drank alcohol. So, at the end of the evening, when I got up to leave, I suddenly found the room spinning. I remember carefully hanging onto the chairs as I headed for our bus.
Talk about dumb! When Jesus said, “Eat whatever is set before you” I’m sure He wasn’t talking about Polish Vodka! Fortunately, we all can learn from our mistakes… and I never did that again.
I sure appreciate God’s love for me even when I do dumb things! It is like when my grandson accidentally spills the milk at our house. Anna and I love him so much, that we quickly clean-up after him and don’t make a big fuss! His mistakes do not change our love for him in the slightest. And you know what? God’s love for me is even greater than that!
Question: What dumb things have you done? What lessons have you learned through the process?
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