Forgive the Edsel

We all make our share of mistakes, don’t we? 

No matter who we are. Whether a teacher, a student, a boss, a secretary, and yes even parents. It happens to the best of us. 

Sometimes, only a few may be aware of our blunders and at other times mistakes are out in the open for all to see. 

Do you remember the Edsel? 

In 1957, Ford declared it the car of the decade. What a mistake! It flopped! In fact, it failed so badly that it became the worst marketing disaster in automotive history. Then, how about the Tower of Pisa?

The guy who designed it planned a foundation only ten feet deep for a tower that was 179 feet tall. It leans 20 feet out of perpendicular. How would you like that on your resume? Your resume would say, “I designed the Tower of Pisa.”

Then there was the teacher that told Albert Einstein, “You will never amount to much.” What about the executive at Decca Records who turned down the Beatles in 1962, saying , “We don’t like that sound. Groups of guitars are on their way out.” 

On and on it goes. Mistakes, big and small are a regular part of life for everyone.

If our perfect Lord is gracious enough to take our worst, our ugliest, out least successful, our leaning tower failures, our Edsel flops, and forgive them; then don’t you think it is high time we give each other a break? 

“Be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God, for Christ sake hath forgiven you.” (Ephesians 4:32)