I enjoy playing tennis, but one thing frustrates me about my play—unforced errors. I have a perfect opportunity for a volley into an open court and I hit it into the net or behind the baseline. It is true that professionals have unforced errors in matches, but they are particularly common among those of lesser ability and limited practice. My goal this summer is to play more and eliminate many of my unforced errors. 

These errors are not limited to tennis. We see them every day. Politicians compare a rival or a group to Nazis. The reaction is always the same—outrage at the comparison. A social media post bragging about illegal activity. Someone always reports the post to the authorities. And someone caught saying something on a “hot mike” that they would never say in public. As my mother used to say, if you don’t have something good to say, don’t say it. Yet people do, thinking not everyone will hear it. These are all unforced errors.

These uncompelled errors are not limited to politicians, celebrities, and players of sports. We also see them in the Church.  I remember hearing of a pastoral staff member who had served his church for more than two decades was given notice he was no longer employed. That same day, he was escorted to his office to collect his personal effects and escorted out of the building. I heard recently of a another long-serving pastor who was called into an elders’ meeting and told a change needed to be made and his time at the church would be up in a few weeks. Many in the congregation reacted negatively to this decision, so much so that one of the elders said he had regrets in voting for the pastor’s removal. 

These are unforced spiritual errors. In both of these examples, if it were deemed necessary for the pastor to leave, there are more gracious ways to accomplish the same thing. In both incidences, the way the leaders acted caused unnecessary problems. 

However, these spiritual errors are not limited to leaders; there are many congregants guilty of similar errors. I remember when many years ago I was a part of a committee to help guide the worship of the church. We suggested that Communion be moved from before the sermon to after it. Within days of that suggestion becoming public, a couple in the congregation began calling members of the church to complain about it and ask for their support to oppose it. In a matter of hours, they created a state of disunity in the church. There was a simple solution: either accept the non-consequential decision or talk directly to those who were actually involved in deciding the matter. Instead, their actions created an unnecessary issue for the leaders of the church.

If we’re honest, we have all committed unforced spiritual errors. We’ve gossiped when we should have remained quiet. We’ve uttered public criticism of a pastor when we should have taken our concerns directly to them. We have left a church, not over doctrinal concerns, but merely because they didn’t do things the way we preferred. Or, like me, we have handled troubled situations with fellow brothers and sisters with anger and too little grace.

What is at stake when spiritual unforced errors are continually made in the Church is her reputation suffers among both insiders and outsiders. I recall a former student whose father was a pastor. He walked away from the faith in college because of how his father was treated by fellow believers in the churches he served. And, of course, there is continual criticism from the world that the Church is full of hypocrites. Much of this is the result of unforced errors within local congregations. 

In tennis, the way to reduce unforced errors is to practice—improving your footwork and developing proper technique on various shots. Within the spiritual realm, it is the same. The way to reduce our unforced errors is by frequent practice. Jesus says this: “Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock.” (Matthew 7:24) James echoes this when he writes: 

Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like someone who looks at his face in a mirror and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. But whoever looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues in it—not forgetting what they have heard, but doing it—they will be blessed in what they do. (James 1:22-25)

When we practice the commands of the Scriptures, we will naturally get better at fulfilling them in our everyday lives. And not only will we be blessed, but we will be a blessing to others—both believers and unbelievers. 

If you aren’t intentionally practicing obedience to the Lord, today would be a great time to start your journey toward eliminating unforced errors.

© Jim Musser 2022 All Scripture references are from the New International Version, 2011.