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Spiritual Growth
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Written by Administrator
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May 02, 2007 at 10:30 PM |
Hi Everyone,
I lost my temper today, and used a word that I immediately regretted using. It's a long story. Suffice it to say, I'm working with contractors on remodeling my pool and lanai, and things aren't going well. Part of me wants to tell you the story so you won't think I lost my temper over nothing. But the size of the problem doesn't really matter. There was no justification. There was no excuse.
I immediately apologized. The contractor laughed and said that he understood. We then finished our business and I hung up. But it still bothered me. I didn't want the incident to define my character or my image. So after a half hour I called him back. I think he was hesitant to take the call, but when I told him that the only reason for my call was to make sure that he understood the regret and the sincerity of my apology, he was pleasantly surprised. As anyone would, he said that the call wasn't necessary, that he understood the situation. But when I would allow no excuses and conveyed my remorse (for what I felt in my heart was deeper than regret), he became silent and then he quietly told me that he appreciated the call, that it doesn't happen often, and that he accepted my apology. It didn't fix the problem with the remodeling, but it did help repair the dent in my reputation, and the hole in my spirit.
The reason I'm sharing this (because it is embarrassing to do so) is to share with you the importance of "righting wrongs". We all do wrong. We are fallible, and, unfortunately, flawed by a nature of sin. The problem is our culture has created an environment where we feel like it is OK to do wrong, especially if we really didn't mean it or if circumstances seem to justify it. And if we did do wrong, then others should understand, especially if we say we are sorry. We don't need to take the extra step of correcting what we did. After all, the other party wasn't entirely innocent either. But that is not what Jesus told us to do. He said, in Matthew 5:23-24, “This is how I want you to conduct yourself in these matters. If you enter your place of worship and, about to make an offering, you suddenly remember a grudge a friend has against you, abandon your offering, leave immediately, go to this friend and make things right. Then and only then, come back and work things out with God." Notice, we are to "make things right". Also notice that when we don't, it affects our relationship with God. This is a very important concept.
It takes courage and humility to go and make wrongs right. When we don't do it, it usually indicates we are prideful and possibly fearful. You should also know that there is a tremendous side benefit to righting wrongs. By taking the extra effort, it makes it less likely for you to repeat the failure. (Believe me.) So learn this lesson from my painful experience. It is best not to do wrong at all. But if you do, ask the Holy Spirit to help you, swallow your pride, face your fear of how they will respond, and go right the wrong. It will improve your character, improve the relationship with the person wronged, and draw you closer to God. ... ... ... Perhaps you can think of a wrong that needs to be made right today?
Hope to see you at LifeQuest soon. This Friday night we have a couple of really special videos planned, and Mike Tedder, our senior pastor, will be speaking. On May 12th, we begin the series "Living the Life." Together we are going to discover WHAT we need to do in order to be WHO we would like to be in Christ. This is a great series to invite a friend or family member.
Love you. Together, encouraging each other, through the power of Christ Jesus, we can ... ... ...
Live The Life,
Bruce
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Last Updated ( Jun 03, 2007 at 10:58 PM )
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