Foot-in-Mouth (Part 3)

About this time Jesus was informed that Pilate had murdered some people from Galilee as they were sacrificing at the Temple in Jerusalem. "Do you think those Galileans were worse sinners than other people from Galilee?" he asked. "Is that why they suffered? Not at all! And you will also perish unless you turn from your evil ways and turn to God. And what about the eighteen men who died when the Tower of Siloam fell on them? Were they the worst sinners in Jerusalem? No, and I tell you again that unless you repent, you will also perish." (Luke 13:1-5 NLV).

Let’s review the last two days in our study of how to cure “foot-in-mouth” disease. First, we saw that we needed to check our attitude, and, second, we needed to stop making excuses for our failures. Today, the third and final step is to repent and learn from our mistakes.

This is what Peter’s tears were about. After his denial of Jesus, the Scripture tell us that he went away and wept “bitterly.” He knew he had failed the moment he saw Jesus’ eyes. He could have turned away making excuses for his failure, but he didn’t. Within him he knew his only course of action was repentance. His later actions prove this truth. And, he would become a greater servant of God after having gone through this humbling experience.

Some say that when you fall, God is through with you. If that were the case, God wouldn’t have used Noah who got drunk; Abraham who repeatedly lied and claimed his wife was his sister; Moses who smote the rock; or, even David who committed adultery and murder. Instead, God’s message to those who fail is this: "The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord: and he delights in his way. Though he fall, he will not be utterly cast down; for the Lord upholds him with his hand" (Psalm 37:23,24).

Here’s the question we must answer: will we let our failures make us bitter, or we will let them make us better? Will we keep beating ourselves up for the sins we’ve committed or will we trust the grace and mercy of God for His forgiveness and restoration? The Associated Press ran this story in October of 2000:

“A pig recently traveled n a six-hour US Airways flight from Philadelphia to Seattle, and didn’t ride coach. Two passengers convinced the airline representative that the pig needed to fly with them as a ’therapeutic companion pet’ - like a seeing-eye dog - so the pig was permitted to sit with them in the first-class cabin of the plane. Passengers described the 300-pound pig as ’enormous, brown, angry, and honking.’ He was seated near the front of the plane, but the attendants reportedly had difficulty strapping him in: ’It became restless after takeoff and sauntered through the cabin.’ One passenger said, ’He kept rubbing his nose on people’s legs trying to get them to give him food and stroke him.’ Upon landing, things only got worse. The article reports, ’the pig panicked, running up and down through economy class squealing.’ Many passengers, also screaming, stood on their seats. It took four attendants to escort the pig out of the airplane, and he escaped upon reaching the terminal. (He was later re-captured.) When asked to comment on the story, US Airways spokesman David Castelveter said, ’We can confirm that the pig traveled, and we can confirm that it will never happen again.’”

Take control of your attitudes; don’t make excuses for your failures; and, repent quickly, learning from your mistakes and determine they won’t happen again! That’s the cure for “foot-in-mouth” disease!