Steve Harvey

Steve is a comedian, but the mistake he made at the recent Miss Universe competition was no joke. The 58-year old host of the hugely popular US game show, Family Feud, initially named runner-up Miss Colombia as the winner, instead of Miss Philippines. He then returned to the stage minutes later to apologize and correct his blunder before an estimated global audience of six million viewers on the December 20 live event.

According to Steve Harvey, “I said the name that was on the card. When I walked off, everything was cool … and then, after that, all hell broke loose. All I heard was people saying, 'That's the wrong name,'" he continued. "And all I hear is confusion backstage. Now I'm standing here in the wing, so what I did was, 'I got to go fix it.''"

"Did I make a mistake? Yes, I did, wholeheartedly," Harvey admitted. "And at this point in the game, I'm not in the finger-pointing business and rolling people under the bus. So, I did what I was trained to do by my father … You make a mistake and you own up to it. And I tried to fix it, I tried to fix it right there."

Since then, the comedian has been the butt of jokes from all quarters. He was scoffed at on social media, particularly by supporters of Miss Colombia.

As if his initial blunder was not enough, Harvey tweeted a follow-up apology which compounded the embarrassing flub. In the tweet, Harvey apologized to Miss Philippians – a book of the New Testament, instead of Miss Philippines. Ouch!

Agreed, Steve Harvey was wrong. However, he was very right about the way he handled it. He acknowledged his error and apologized. What a refreshing difference from the blame game response, so prevalent in our society. Some persons felt Steve’s admission would lead to his downfall.
Interestingly, it did not. The organizers of the Miss Universe pageant have already booked him to host the annual event in 2016. The organizers felt it was human error and Steve’s reaction was honorable.

What Steve Harvey’s mistake can teach us is that failure is an inevitable part of success. Successful people did not get that way by not making mistakes. It was their reaction to failure that often resulted in their success. They did not allow a crisis to go to waste. They used failure as the backdoor to success.

In 1953, a fledgling company called Rocket Chemical Company and its staff of three set out to create a line of rust-prevention solvents and degreasers for use in the aerospace industry.

Working in a small lab in San Diego, California, it took them 40 attempts to get the water displacing formula worked out. But they must have been really good, because the original secret formula for WD-40® -which stands for Water Displacement perfected on the 40th try—is still in use today. A product that failed 39 times, realized sales totaling $383 million in its fiscal year, ended last August.

In his book, Failing Forward – Turning Mistakes Into Stepping Stones for Success, John Maxwell makes the point that he knows of only one factor that separates those who consistently shine from those who don’t: “the difference between average people and achieving people is their perception of and response to failure.”

Steve Harvey wants another chance “to host the pageant…so he can restore integrity to his name and pride in the pageant. According to Entertainment Tonight, Steve signed a multi-year deal with the Miss Universe organizers. Hopefully, fans will see much more of the gracious and affable comedian.

According to Moody Church pastor, Dr. Erwin Lutzer, “many Christians who consider themselves failures in this life are great successes in God’s eyes. Likewise, those who consider themselves successful, even models for others to follow, may be sadly surprised when they arrive in heaven.”

Lutzer further contends in his book, Failure: The Backdoor to Success, “that understanding the biblical perspective of failure is the first step toward successful living. Failure, no matter what the circumstances, can bring you into spiritual victory and blessing.”

That is rather encouraging to know at the start of a new year. We all desire victory and blessing, but often fail to realize that these are sometimes preceded by failure. Without attempting to glamorize failure, we sometimes forget to acknowledge that failure often is a description of an event and not a way of life.

It was following his ugly failure, King David penned, “Restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me. Then I will teach transgressors your ways” (Psalm 51:12-13). Wow! David did not allow his crisis to go to waste.