I was wrong

“I was wrong”.

Perhaps these are among the hardest words to say in the English language. They are right up there with “please forgive me” and “I am sorry”. These words, and the feelings and actions behind them, make us vulnerable. They reveal that we don’t always have it all together. They show us that we are human and make mistakes.

Growing up, I liked to watch the television show “Happy Days”. One of the characters was named Fonzie. He was the king of cool. Everyone looked up to the Fonz as someone who could do no wrong. But, on a few occasions, he was imperfect and made mistakes. I love this clip where Fonzie is trying to tell Ralph that he was wrong. click here

As followers of Christ, we are called to be salt and light. We are called to do the difficult thing and ask for forgiveness when it is necessary.

James 5:16 says Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working.

This verse teaches me that I need to keep short accounts with people. When I offend, or wrong, or sin against someone, I have a responsibility to confess and ask for forgiveness. When I do that, I begin to receive the healing power of the Holy Spirit, and the relationship can begin to be healed.

I recently had to apologize and ask for forgiveness from someone that I didn’t even know. I was acting on old information and asked this person to do something. Turns out, that my intel was wrong and I looked like a fool because of my request. When it came to my attention, that my information was outdated, I called the individual and asked for their forgiveness. They graciously gave it.

You know, I didn’t want to make that call, but I am glad that I did. It gave me the opportunity to live out my faith and ask for the thing that I need most, forgiveness.

Is there someone that you need to go to and ask for forgiveness? What is standing in your way? It may not be easy, but it will be worth it.