Big Mistakes That People Make

BIG MISTAKES THAT PEOPLE MAKE

Luke 12:13-21

INTRO.- ILL.- A newspaper in Kansas, trying to correct a mistake that had occurred in a previous issue,

carried the following item: “We wish to apologize for an error in the wedding story in last week’s paper.

Due to a typesetter’s mistake we said, ‘THE ROSES WERE PUNK.’ What we intended to say, ‘THE

NOSES WERE PINK.’”

They tried to correct an error and only made it worse!

Here’s another.

ILL.- When the janitor of the First Security Bank, Boise, Idaho, accidentally put a box of 8,000 checks

worth $840,000 on a trash table, a nightmare occurred.

The operator of the paper shredder dumped all the contents into his machine, cutting them into

quarter-inch shreds and dumping them into a garbage can outside the bank. The bank supervisor said,

“I want to cry!” (I’ll bet he wanted to do more than that!)

Most of the checks had been cashed at the bank and were waiting shipment to a clearing house. Their

loss would result in a bookkeeping nightmare because most of them were still unrecorded. The bankers

could not know who paid what to whom.

THE SOLUTION: Reclaim the shredded pieces and reconstruct each check! COULD YOU IMAGINE?! So

fifty employees worked in two shifts for six hours a day, inside 6 rooms, shifting, plucking, matching,

and pasting checks back together.

Do you wonder what happened to that janitor and the person who did the paper-shredding?

Big mistakes that people make. And all of us make mistakes in life.

Rom. 3:23 “All have sinned and come short of the glory of God.”

One preacher paraphrases that verse this way: We all fail in some form or another. Or it could be: We

all make mistakes and some bigger than others.

Can you remember the dumbest mistake you ever made? You probably can but I suspect you don’t

want to talk about it.

ILL.- It’s like the fellow who spit out the window of his car, only to discover that his window was rolled

up. The only thing that might have made it worse was if he had spitted tobacco.

That’s a dumb mistake all right. Of course, if that was the worse mistake any person ever made, it

wouldn’t be that bad. I’d take that one any day over some of the dumb things I’ve done.

Brethren, we might admit to a few minor mistakes, but we certainly don’t like to admit to major ones!

Or not extremely embarrassing ones! And certainly not costly ones!

ILL.- For example. A New York newspaper once published an advertisement of a magazine that was

just being published. By the error of both the printer and the proofreader, the cost of the year’s

subscription was given as ten (10) cents! Can you believe it?

Thirty-thousand readers of the newspaper sent in their dimes for a year’s subscription and the

newspaper had to stand good for the mistakes. AND THAT ONE LITTLE MISTAKE COST THEM $27,000!

Now that would be hard to admit! Embarrassing! Uncalled for!

ILL.- An extremely costly mistake was made by General Motors one time in which they had to recall 4.9

million vehicles to check for faulty carburetors and exhaust systems. THE POSTAGE ALONE FOR

SENDING THE REGISTERED LETTERS COST THEM MORE THAN FOUR MILLION DOLLARS!

ILL.- That’s like Ford and Firestone, isn’t it? I read that Firestone has now recalled 6.5 million tires. I

have read that figures may well run over $350 million dollars! Wow! What a costly mistake!

ILL.- In a 60 Minutes interview that aired last Sunday night, Ford CEO was asked about the cost of the

recall to Ford. He didn’t specify a number, but when asked if it would be around $500 million, he said

that was a close figure.

BIG MISTAKES THAT PEOPLE MAKE!

ILL.- Here’s another that was sent to me by a preacher friend about a certain politician running for the

Presidency. Please, let me say, I am not trying to be political here. I believe that we as Christians

should vote for the person we believe in. And what I am about to tell you could happen to any

candidate, republican or democrat.

But it seems that this candidate said something about his faith being so important to him. He

announced that his favorite Bible verse is John 16:3. And, of course, he meant John 3:16.

Do you know what John 16:3 says? It reads: “They will do such things because they have not

known the Father or me.”

Wow! What a big mistake that could be!

Brethren, one important thing to remember about any mistakes that we make in life is they are

generally not fatal. AND THEY CAN BE FORGIVEN IN CHRIST! PTL!

PROP.- Our text in Luke 12 (the parable of the rich fool) tells us about some big mistakes