my husband tells me i'm terrible at admitting i'm wrong.
he's right.
i hate it. i hate being wrong. and if i think i might be wrong, i hate saying the words. and when i think of the words 'i was wrong' in my head and try to say them out loud, it's like waging a war to force the words past my lips. and sometimes they never do make it out.
tonight i listened to a sermon (by Stuart Briscoe) about the first church - those who experienced the effects of Pentecost, who heard the message of Jesus and believed, repented, and joined the body of Christ. i'd never really thought into it before, but some of those people listening to Peter's message that day may have been the same people who were in the crowds days earlier yelling, 'Crucify Him!!!' about Jesus. now they were watching a little group of local men speak in languages they'd never heard before, and those listeners reconsidered their position against Jesus... they contemplated how they'd sentenced the Messiah of the world, Jesus, to death and they said, 'What have we done?!'
then they made the most important choice of their lives. they admitted they were wrong. they repented and became followers of Jesus.
that's courage.
i wonder if i would have done that.
~
over and over in the Bible God affirms that He listens to repentance. and He honors it. if you're truly repentant, admitting you're wrong and turning from it, He won't leave you hanging.
David, committer of one of the most famous Bible sins (killing a man so he could commit adultery with the guy's wife), wrote this in the Psalms. he knew it from experience:
"...a broken and contrite heart, O God, You will not despise." Psalm 51:17b
when Jonah finally brought God's message to the evil people of Nineveh, and they repented, the Bible says this:
"When God saw what they did and how they turned from their evil ways, He had compassion and did not bring upon them the destruction He had threatened." Jonah 3:10
King Solomon, a man who was given wisdom but struggled to act wisely, said this:
"He who conceals his sins does not prosper, but whoever confesses and renounces them finds mercy." Proverbs 28:13
Saul (later Paul), a religious leader who made it his personal mission to seek out and kill ALL Christians (Acts 8:3), accepted Jesus as his King, even though it would cost him his job, his friends, his status, eventually his freedom, and possibly even his life. but he went on to write most of what we now call the New Testament.
key message of the whole Bible is this:
"Repent then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out." Acts 3:19a
~
why do i have such a hard time admitting i'm wrong?
pride. ego. sometimes i'm afraid that if i admit i'm wrong in one area, the person i'm talking to might think i'm wrong all over the place.
pride. basically it's me saying, 'i know everything and i am king of everything. you all answer to me! how dare you think you know more than me!'
but wait. who is Lord? me or Jesus? if i claim to be a Christian, then Jesus is Lord. and that means only He is always right. that means i am sometimes, if not most of the time, wrong. even if it's just a matter of my motives being wrong, that is still wrong-ness.
and that means i'd better get used to admitting i'm wrong. really, i should practice it in the 'small' areas, like when i'm talking to my husband about who put the peanut butter back on the wrong shelf. then when it comes to the 'big' stuff, like admitting to God that i failed the other day and listened to gossip, i won't be so out of practice.
try it yourself.
think about your actions and words and thoughts today. if something comes up where you notice you are wrong, admit it to that person (or to God) and tell them, 'i'm sorry. i was wrong.' and if it applies, add another most annoying sentence: 'you were right.'
ps if you're married: men really like to hear that last sentence. it's a really big confidence booster that will help them love you just a little bit more than they did yesterday. :)
"If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness." 1 John 1:7-9
he's right.
i hate it. i hate being wrong. and if i think i might be wrong, i hate saying the words. and when i think of the words 'i was wrong' in my head and try to say them out loud, it's like waging a war to force the words past my lips. and sometimes they never do make it out.
tonight i listened to a sermon (by Stuart Briscoe) about the first church - those who experienced the effects of Pentecost, who heard the message of Jesus and believed, repented, and joined the body of Christ. i'd never really thought into it before, but some of those people listening to Peter's message that day may have been the same people who were in the crowds days earlier yelling, 'Crucify Him!!!' about Jesus. now they were watching a little group of local men speak in languages they'd never heard before, and those listeners reconsidered their position against Jesus... they contemplated how they'd sentenced the Messiah of the world, Jesus, to death and they said, 'What have we done?!'
then they made the most important choice of their lives. they admitted they were wrong. they repented and became followers of Jesus.
that's courage.
i wonder if i would have done that.
~
over and over in the Bible God affirms that He listens to repentance. and He honors it. if you're truly repentant, admitting you're wrong and turning from it, He won't leave you hanging.
David, committer of one of the most famous Bible sins (killing a man so he could commit adultery with the guy's wife), wrote this in the Psalms. he knew it from experience:
"...a broken and contrite heart, O God, You will not despise." Psalm 51:17b
when Jonah finally brought God's message to the evil people of Nineveh, and they repented, the Bible says this:
"When God saw what they did and how they turned from their evil ways, He had compassion and did not bring upon them the destruction He had threatened." Jonah 3:10
King Solomon, a man who was given wisdom but struggled to act wisely, said this:
"He who conceals his sins does not prosper, but whoever confesses and renounces them finds mercy." Proverbs 28:13
Saul (later Paul), a religious leader who made it his personal mission to seek out and kill ALL Christians (Acts 8:3), accepted Jesus as his King, even though it would cost him his job, his friends, his status, eventually his freedom, and possibly even his life. but he went on to write most of what we now call the New Testament.
key message of the whole Bible is this:
"Repent then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out." Acts 3:19a
~
why do i have such a hard time admitting i'm wrong?
pride. ego. sometimes i'm afraid that if i admit i'm wrong in one area, the person i'm talking to might think i'm wrong all over the place.
pride. basically it's me saying, 'i know everything and i am king of everything. you all answer to me! how dare you think you know more than me!'
but wait. who is Lord? me or Jesus? if i claim to be a Christian, then Jesus is Lord. and that means only He is always right. that means i am sometimes, if not most of the time, wrong. even if it's just a matter of my motives being wrong, that is still wrong-ness.
and that means i'd better get used to admitting i'm wrong. really, i should practice it in the 'small' areas, like when i'm talking to my husband about who put the peanut butter back on the wrong shelf. then when it comes to the 'big' stuff, like admitting to God that i failed the other day and listened to gossip, i won't be so out of practice.
try it yourself.
think about your actions and words and thoughts today. if something comes up where you notice you are wrong, admit it to that person (or to God) and tell them, 'i'm sorry. i was wrong.' and if it applies, add another most annoying sentence: 'you were right.'
ps if you're married: men really like to hear that last sentence. it's a really big confidence booster that will help them love you just a little bit more than they did yesterday. :)
"If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness." 1 John 1:7-9
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