True Confessions

Some of you may recall the magazine a few years (ok, decades) ago by this name:  True Confessions.  What I am about to share is not as salacious, but is a confession, nonetheless…

God has a way of teaching us lessons.  We can first be smug and then, selfish.  One day I saw this shirt in a store.  It reminded me of a child who may always be in trouble.  I laughed about it and set off for the next store where I turned into the parking lot (I am embarrassed to admit) in front of someone.  The victim of my thoughtlessness (no, selfishness) was lying in wait for me by the front door.  “That wasn’t nice of you to cut me off.”  I was stunned and a bit sheepish when I uttered, “I’m so sorry.”  But, she wasn’t done:  “I don’t think you are!” and she stormed off, leaving me standing there like a recalcitrant child.  I could have said – like Flip Wilson – “The devil made me do it”, but the truth is that it was my choice.

Perhaps none of you has ever done something so colossally stupid.  If that’s the case, I don’t recommend it.  God has a way of pointing out our faults or shining a mirror in our direction.  I realized He was reminding me that He is not Santa to whom we can jokingly think we “can explain”.  There is a huge difference between regret and repentance.  Regret says, “Oops.  I got caught.”  Repentance says, “I did it and I won’t do that again.”  We may fail because we are human, but we have to try to do our best and stop trying to justify our actions.  That experience was not only embarrassing and humbling, but it made me physically sick as I thought of how right she was and how wrong I was.  Ok.  It wasn’t murder.  There was no actual injury.  But, it was selfish.

In any case, God doesn’t want our excuses.  He wants us to agree with Him (confess).  New Year’s Resolutions are usually broken soon after they are made.  I pray I can remember this confrontation for a long time and learn the lesson well.  If there’s a lesson He’s taught you recently, remember it and be grateful.

“My son, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord, nor faint when you are reproved by Him, for those whom the Lord loves He disciplines…for our good, that we may share in His holiness.”    (Hebrews 12:5b-6b, 10b)