While preaching recently, I was right in the middle of a humorous story when I suddenly realized that I was telling the wrong joke! I had never made this particular mistake before (although I have made most of the other mistakes that are possible to make while preaching!).

I had to make a quick decision. If I finished the joke, it would make absolutely no point in the context of the sermon. So, in mid-story, I admitted my mistake, bailed out on the joke and told the one that I had meant to tell.

When all was said and done, the fact that I had messed up brought more laughter than if the story had gone as planned.

It’s always best to admit our mistakes. Quite often, the situation is more serious than being in the middle of the wrong joke. People find themselves in the middle of a wrong relationship, a wrong world view, a wrong lifestyle or a wrong mindset. The right thing to do when you realize that you are in the middle of a wrong story is to stop, admit your mistake, and begin to do the right thing.

The Bible calls this “repentance”.

“…But unless you repent, you too will all perish.”—Luke 13:5.