When pastor Jonathan Carl of South Fork Baptist Church got a notification that the President of The United States had mentioned him on Twitter, he might’ve been initially excited. But then he read what the President had said.

President Trump blasted Carl, calling him a “lightweight reporter” who’d given “a phony hurricane report.” And if you’re confused by that, well … so was Carl. That’s because Trump intended to tweet at Jonathan Karl, a reporter for ABC News. Karl had previously fact-checked the President’s inaccurate predictions regarding Hurricane Dorian and the potential for adverse weather conditions in Alabama.

After the President’s spelling mishap led to mistaken identity, Carl tried to leverage it as a teachable moment, writing an open letter to President Trump on his blog:

I’m not mad at you, I’m sad for you. My first reaction was to laugh out loud at your mistake when I saw your tweet. My second response was sadness and compassion for you. Our words overflow from our hearts and can quickly evidence the health or sickness of our souls … You called an experienced reporter a “lightweight.” Let’s be honest, you are a lightweight too. We all are. God is the only heavyweight who knows it all and gets it right all the time.

Carl contrasted President Trump’s words with those of Abraham Lincoln, urging him to be “slow to tweet,” “apologize more,” “be humble,” and “choose kindness.”

Potential Preaching Angles: When we defend ourselves against critics without doing due diligence, we discredit ourselves. On the flipside, the best way to respond to someone spewing false accusations is with humility and patience. The last thing you want to do is follow your critics into their foolishness.