That is, if we have the humility to learn from them. Sadly, common human reactions to making a mistake are to either sweep it under the carpet and forget about it, or to repeat it, because we haven't learned from it.
Let me share an example. A long time ago, I was studying the Unitarian Theology and Thought module of the Worship Studies Course. In my second assignment, a Unitarian view of Jesus, I included a throw-away disparaging remark about Christianity. My tutor, Alex Bradley, gently pointed out that Christianity was the soil out of which Unitarianism had grown, and that many Unitarians were also Liberal Christians, and that speaking disrespectfully about Christianity should be avoided. This opened my eyes, and in the years since then, I have encountered many radical Christians, and have realised that Christianity is a very broad church indeed, and that its teachings hold much which I I agreed with.
Another teacher was the wonderful Rabbi Lionel Blue. who helped me to understand that it is through our failures that we actually learn the important lessons of life. "Your successes make you clever, but your problems make you wise." Oh. I wrote in Gems for the Journey that "His books are full of wonderful stories, in which he is absolutely honest about his mistakes, his small meannesses, the grudges he is holding on to, and which show how accepting these and learning from them bring him closer to God."
No human being is perfect, infallible. We all make mistakes. It is what we learn from them that matters. They are part and parcel of the spiritual journey, through which we learn to grow into our best selves.
No comments:
Post a Comment