diff --git a/src/lxc/parse.c b/src/lxc/parse.c
index 5fca79ef0..dcf5cf02d 100644
--- a/src/lxc/parse.c
+++ b/src/lxc/parse.c
@@ -102,7 +102,10 @@ int lxc_file_for_each_line(const char *file, lxc_file_cb callback, void *data)
 	while (getline(&line, &len, f) != -1) {
 		err = callback(line, data);
 		if (err) {
-			ERROR("Failed to parse config: %s", line);
+			// callback rv > 0 means stop here
+			// callback rv < 0 means error
+			if (err < 0)
+				ERROR("Failed to parse config: %s", line);
 			break;
 		}
 	}