Making misnakes

After a Wednesday night church service, I spoke briefly with a friend as were making our way to the carpark. With her original wedding plans dashed by Covid restrictions, I congratulated her shooting from the hip.

She managed to organise our pastor, a photographer, and a small wedding party at the 11^th hour to say her vows before we descended into lockdown (which ended up lasting 15 weeks).

Naturally, our quiet conversation turned to wedding gifts. I mentioned that I knew that she liked ‘mammograms’.

Her face cracked an awkward smile. Self-consciously, she wrapped both sides of her cardigan in tighter, crossed her arms defensively, before curling in on herself like a prawn in a frypan.

In my head, I had said, ‘monograms’, but what tumbled out of my mouth was the word ‘mammograms’. (Mind you, I didn’t have many neurons firing. My brain is cactus after 8.00 pm.)

I knew she liked things with initials engraved on them. I wanted to buy a present with her name and her husband’s name monogramed on top—something utterly different to a medical exam on sensitive female tissue.

My gaffe made me realise just how easy it is to make a blunder even when your intentions are pure.

Sticky mistakes

Back in 1968, 3M chemist, Spencer Silver was formulating a stronger glue to use in aircraft construction. Instead, he ended up with a weak, pressure sensitive glue by accident—made from acrylate co-polymer microspheres.

All his hours of hard work were all for nothing. Silver had failed.

What good was an adhesive if it did not serve its sole purpose of firmly bonding things together? An insipid glue is no glue at all—it is merely sludge.

Yet, he persisted in attempting to find a use for his weak adhesive.

His weak glue never found a practical invention until years later in 1974, when Art Fry approached Silver. Fry was a colleague who had heard him talk about microspheres at a company seminar.

A Sticky Solution

Art Fry sang regularly in a church choir. During Wednesday night choir practice, he would use pieces of paper to bookmark his hymnbook. Come Sunday morning, all those bits and pieces of paper were misplaced or fell out of his hymnal.

A lightbulb moment dawned when he came up with the ideal bookmark, one that would stick to his hymnbook pages without falling off or damaging the sheets.

Fry suggested using Silver’s non-sticky adhesive on the backs of paper that could be stuck and removed without leaving traces of glue behind.

The product nobody thought they needed

In 1977, the product was launched in four cities under the name Press ‘n Peel. Hardly anyone bought it because people did not understand its value.

One year later, 3M released a large volume of free samples to companies. From that clever marketing tactic, Post-it notes took off. Almost 90% of companies given free samples re-ordered the product.

The notes spread “like a virus,” said Fry. “It was always a self-advertising product because customers would put the notes on documents they sent to others, arousing the recipient’s curiosity. They would look at it, peel it off and play with it, and then go out and buy a pad for themselves.”           Source: 3m.co.uk

Today, Post-it notes is a household name.

The Apostle Peter and his mistakes

Peter is the apostle with ‘foot in mouth’ disease. He is rough as guts, dangerously impulsive and easily provoked. His obvious character flaws make it easy to dismiss him as leadership material.

The urgent need for prayer

When Jesus asks you to do something, you’d better do it. After the Last Supper, Jesus and his disciples set off for the Garden of Gethsemane, at the base of the Mount of Olives. It is in this familiar setting that Jesus urges them all to be vigilant and to pray. He knew that their faith would soon come under fire.

Desiring time alone with the Father, Jesus steps away from the main group to a secluded area. Upon his return, he finds his disciples on the ground, not kneeling in prayer, but snoring and fast asleep. This is a serious mistake, especially for Peter.

Earlier, he’d boasted that he would follow Jesus even until death. The very idea of denying Christ seemed preposterous.

Peter said unto him, Lord why cannot I follow thee now? I will lay down my life for thy sake.  John 13:38

Brash Behaviour

In light of his declaration of loyalty, Peter’s impulse to draw his sword is consistent with his choleric personality.

So, when a band of soldiers and Jewish officers surround Jesus to arrest him in the late evening, Peter lashes out without blinking.

His victim is the slave of the High Priest, who is defenseless as Peter slashes at him from behind. Peter’s weapon connects with flesh, blood spills; Malchus the slave loses his ear. Malchus groans in pain. (Did the ear fall to the ground or did it land on Malchus’ shoulder?)

However, his disfigurement is only temporary.

With compassion, Jesus reaches out to Malchus, heals his torn flesh and reattaches the ear to its rightful place.

Then turning to Peter, he rebukes him for his act of aggression and interfering with Jesus’ desire to do God’s will. Matt 26:52-54.

Hoping for another chance to prove his loyalty, Peter trails behind the mob. Only one other disciple follows Christ after his arrest at a distance, the rest scatter into hiding.

The incident is in all four gospels: John 18, Matt 26, Luke 22 and Mark 14.

From the courtyard of the high priest, Peter is in view of the violent assault on the Lord. Servants of the religious leaders attack and strike Jesus with clenched fists, further insulting him by spitting in his face, while the elders falsely accuse him of blasphemy. Peter’s courage wanes, for now his own life is in danger.

Even in the dimness, a young servant girl discovers him, “You also were with Jesus of Galilee.”

Afraid of being recognised, Peter feigns ignorance. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

Without hesitation, he slips in amongst the crowd huddled by a charcoal fire. He hunches over to hide himself and his growing shame.

Another asks with disdain, “You’re not also one of his disciples are you?”

“I am not.”

Despite his desperate attempts to conceal his identity, a relative of Malchus and eyewitness to Peter’s attack recognises his face. How could he forget the man who sliced off Malchus’ ear? “Didn’t I see you in the garden with him?” he charges.

With cursing and oaths, and his voice growing louder with every denial, Peter argues that he has no association with Jesus.

In the distance a rooster crows.

The Lord turns and locks eyes with Peter with a convicting glance from the balcony of the High priest’s house.

And the Lord turned, and looked upon Peter. And Peter remembered the word of the Lord, how he had said unto him, Before the cock crow, thou shalt deny me thrice.   Luke 22:61

A jolt of adrenaline surges through his body as Peter flees. When he finds himself alone, he sobs in despair under the load of his mistakes and failures.

He’s betrayed the one he loves.

When I am weak then am I strong

Peter’s denial of Christ later led him to full dependence on God. His mistakes, failings, pride, fear, doubt and self-reliance needed purging from his life.

Peter’s reliance on the supernatural power of the Holy Spirit transformed him into a dynamic and courageous leader of the early church.

Consider the lyrics to the song Something Beautiful by the Gaithers.

Something beautiful, something good

All my confusion He understood

All I had to offer Him was brokenness and strife

But he made something beautiful of my life

If there ever were dreams

That were lofty and noble

They were my dreams at the start

And hope for life’s best were the hopes

That I harbor down deep in my heart

But my dreams turned to ashes

And my castles all crumbled, my fortune turned to loss

So I wrapped it all in the rags of life

And laid it at the cross.

Source : Lyricsmode.com

God can even use our failings and our mistakes if we yield ourselves to Him.

Bibliography

Author unspecified, 2013, ‘About Post-it Brand’, 3M.co.uk. Retrieved 9 November 2021 from

https://www.3m.co.uk/3M/en_GB/post-it-notes/contact-us/about-us/

Author unspecified, 2017, ‘The True story of Post-it Notes, and how they almost failed’, Idea to Value. Retrieved 9 November 2021 from

https://www.ideatovalue.com/insp/nickskillicorn/2017/04/true-story-post-notes-almost-failed/

Glass, N. & Hume, T. 2013, ‘The “hallelujah moment” behind the invention of the Post-it note’, CNN Business. Retrieved 9 November 2021 from

tps://edition.cnn.com/2013/04/04/tech/post-it-note-history/index.html

Jenkins, D. 2020, ‘Why Did Peter Deny Jesus after Everything?’, Christianity.com. Retrieved 9 November 2021 from

https://www.christianity.com/wiki/jesus-christ/peter-deny-jesus-after-everything.html

Thompson, J. 2021, ‘What can we learn from Each Time Peter Denies Jesus?, Crosswalk.com. Retrieved 9 November 2021 from

https://www.crosswalk.com/faith/bible-study/what-can-we-learn-from-each-time-peter-denied-jesus.html

Tucker, R. 2013, The Biographical Bible, Baker Books, Michigan.

Gaither, B. ‘Something Beautiful lyrics’, Lyricsmode.com. Retrieved 9 November 2021 from

https://www.lyricsmode.com/lyrics/b/bill_gaither/something_beautiful.html