Philippians 2:3-5- Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others. In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus.

This is a very specific topic that requires an open perspective. It is a sacrifice from ourselves to give up the need to do, but instead, let the other be responsible for their own dealings. It has to do with when to step in and when to allow room for one to correct their own mistakes. Because sometimes, the win is not for you, it’s for them. We have to learn to value others progression to success and their interests and personal desires to improve. This can be important to do, ahead of our own desire to control. That way God can work out their struggle without our interference.

TAKING MATTERS INTO YOUR HANDS
Sometimes people in life will make a minor error and it will make you want to take matters into your own hands. You say or think that you can do something better than them. Matter fact when they mess up you might even start to wonder why you even asked them. This is usually because we want the end result to be exactly as we’d preferred it to be. It becomes tempting to want to snatch their shoes and walk in them because you already have all the answers and find that what is difficult to another, is super simple to you. The need to do this is because, otherwise, it will disrupt our lives, our comfort and perhaps, our satisfaction.

But you forgot one thing………. Those aren’t your shoes to wear…..

THE NEED TO CONTROL
When action is taken, according to our perfect timing, it gives and lends security and safety. It makes matters feel under our control. When a situation becomes out of control, because of asking someone to do something for us that was not done correctly, it can makes us feel at a loss. Our personal agenda can get in the way and we can feel on edge with the likes of that individual. It is a much more considerate and slows hastiness when we take a breathe and ask God what he might be trying to do here with the other person.

WHAT CAUSES ERROR?

Often times when you stop to dissect the scenario, you will find that interaction between partnerships, family, co-workers or even children can easily be misconstrued. It could be that communication is broken or that people just plain make mistakes. Mistakes happen from not paying enough attention. Maybe their focus is unwillingly elsewhere. Distraction can cause an error, or perhaps they didn’t hear instruction correctly. It can also be that they do have a clear sense of what their doing but have been told the wrong information. When it  boils down to it, a task may just be difficult for them and they aren’t that great at doing it right just yet. Give God a chance to show them some things. He will instruct them and matter of fact, everybody involved!

Psalm 32:8- I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you with my loving eye on you.

Have you ever said to someone who makes a mistake “Hey, never mind.“ “I’ll do it.“ “You know what, I got it.“ Or “You don’t seem to know what you’re doing, so let someone else take this over.“

Don’t get me wrong, we have the right to decide how we want to handle and redirect the misunderstanding every time if it’s our thing. But one thing that we must always consider when dealing with someone is that potential does not become actual without experience. In some cases, not at all. Let them get their hands dirty sometimes… Maybe, just maybe, you’re too uptight and need to loosen up a bit.

Before You Move In, Ask Yourself These 6 Questions-
1. How am I allowing them to turn things around?
2. How do they feel about their desire to fix things?
3. Am I magnifying their error? (This wouldn’t be a good thing)
4. How might shutting down their means to fix their error cripple them?

5. How might having an attitude and being rude to them hurt their emotions or damage their self-esteem?
6. How might this affect their love for serving you & others further?

Both Sides
I’ve been on both ends and both ends can be stressful. Here’s the thing, we have to learn how to interact with people in a cordial, respectful, considerate, and patient way. More often, for people, this is too much work to do, and it’s much easier to say that we really don’t care about how someone feels but only the outcome. (But it’s not right). We should change that. One thing’s for sure, the outcome is certainly the goal but we always need to ask ourselves, at what cost? And is the other person having the chance to grow and win for themselves?

If our patience runs thin, we can always step in and re-clarify all the information and make sure it is understood. Then we’d be exercising some humility and could allow an individual to correct their mistake. Like anything, if error loses much time and money then our decision to not step in may cause much further delay. In these circumstances, the key is to step in with that individual or simply be more polite in our quest to regain order.

Mix Understanding, Patience & Kindness
The bottom line is if we can just learn to be more patient and give that individual another chance to fix their error and win it would be kind on our end and a learning experience for that individual.

Proverbs 14:29– Whoever is patient has great understanding, but one who is quick-tempered displays folly.

We all want to win and feel like we are getting it right in life!! That will still come along with failure, embarrassment, and setbacks at times. But it will lead to the opportunity and the chance to fix errors and win!

So the next time someone makes an honest mistake or struggles in their quest to win, when doing you or someone else a task or favor, take it easier on them. Respond in love and see that in the outcome, they are built up, fixed their error, and they had won!