1. Adam

Mistakes. Well, let’s be honest. They can hurt. They can hurt us and others, and can damage stuff for years to come that we can’t even see.  

Not all mistakes are intentional. Sometimes situations and stuff in life trigger things that are mistakes, but the intention was a good one.  For example, saying the wrong thing but not meaning to hurt someone, or saying the right thing and ultimately hurting someone. Confusing, right?  Of course, the scale of mistake can vary greatly, and the associated fallout too.

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Idea 1: The wheels really fell off for Adam

It happens, often when we are building momentum to a derailment in our lives the journey and path seem so easy to run along. The consequences and the fallout seem like distant realities, something that will never come around.

Think about a lie, or a flirt-filled text message, ‘oh it will never come to anything.’ 

• Are there mistakes in your life where you can see this has happened?
• Is there stuff in your life at the moment that needs to be brought into the light with the band of brothers? 

Idea 2: It had significant consequences

If you have ever lost a job because of a mistake it’s a bad thing. I was sacked from Pizza Hut once. I was eating leftovers and pizza that was rejected, cold or not good enough to be served up. I was embarrassed and remember going home to tell my dad about it. 

For Adam, getting booted out of Eden was, well, a total and utter disaster. Paradise, intimacy with God, control and dominion over all the animals and being perfect was a huge loss! How did he not think about all that beforehand? 

• Have you experienced the cost of a mistake? 
• If you can share it with the group, then do.
• Could it have been avoided? 
• Is there anything today you know needs to be dealt with?

Idea 3: The ‘buy-in’ which led to the mistake was subtle

For Adam and Eve the Devil did a great job of casting in some doubt. ‘Did God really say….?’ How often have you heard that in your own life? 

Is it really a bad move to go here, do this, say that, buy this, download that? 

Surely I am ok with this much, just a taster, just a little, a dabble. Will it really bring a mess into my life? 

• Has this been true in your life? 
• Have you experienced this gradual and subtle moving of the line?
• How can we guard against this in our lives?

Idea 4: To sulk or not to sulk, that is the question 

Beechy in the book shows us that actually, for about nine centuries, Adam could have been in lockdown sulking.  Why me, why did this happen, how did I get into this mess? I’m so hurt, so ashamed, so fed up I am going to sulk my life away. 

This sulking can come naturally to us, and I suspect some of you have black belts in the ancient art of sulking. I think it happens when we make the mistake and when we get hurt by others who make the mistake too.

Question is, what are you going to do about it? 

• Are you a sulker? 
• What examples can you share when you have just been in lockdown, sulking. 
• Why do we do it? 
• How have you managed to break out of the sulk?

Action

It is good to take stuff to God in prayer. If you have been honest today about this stuff, pray together before you go home. 

Invite God into this situation and ask him to bring His presence into your lives. 

More?

As the name suggests, we have developed Bible studies on 52 Men of the Bible, based on the book of that name written by Carl Beech.

To find out more about the book, or to access additional Bible studies (in downloadable PDF format) on all 52 of the men in the book, please visit the CVM website here: cvm.org.uk/52-men-of-the-bible