“Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers a multitude of sins. Offer hospitality to one another without grumbling. Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms.” – (1 Peter 4:8-10)

Choose Grace

Chris Webber’s blunder in the 1993 national championship game while playing for the University of Michigan is one of the most famous mistakes in sports history. Trailing by two with 18 seconds left, Webber rebounded a missed free throw and dribbled the ball up the court. He brought the ball into the frontcourt near the Michigan bench and called a timeout, a timeout Michigan didn’t have. The Wolverines were assessed a technical foul and their dream of being national champions vanished in painstaking fashion.

What has always stuck out to me about this game is how Webber’s teammates and coaches responded. They didn’t bash Webber after the game or say that he cost them a national championship. They understood that their friend and teammate made an honest mistake in the heat of the moment and came to Webber’s defense. Chris Webber’s basketball family chose grace and compassion over anger and bitterness. Of course, they were disappointed about losing in the national championship game for the second consecutive year, but they didn’t project that onto any one individual.

People around us are going to make mistakes, just like we are. In those moments, we can respond in grace or in anger. We can let our emotions get the best of us or take a deep breath and remember that we are called to love people in spite of the flaws that we all have. We want people to be understanding when we mess up, so we need to be understanding toward others too.

When responding to mistakes, let’s choose grace!

– Joshua Doering

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