Getting Right by Admitting Wrong (Part 2)

I was inspired to write this blog after reading an essay in Time Magazine entitled, “The Age of U-Turns”. Bruce Grierson is the author of U-Turn: What If You Woke Up One Morning and Realized You Were Living the Wrong Life? Over the past three years while researching a book on what he calls “secular epiphanies” he found people who had pulled a big U-turn in their lives. He writes, “There was a slaughterhouse worker who became an animal-right activist, a venture capitalist who quit to found a high-minded nonprofit, a death-penalty advocate who became a leading death-penalty opponent. Often the insight came in a forehead-smiting moment in the middle of the night: I’ve got it all wrong.”

The world would be a better place if we would all wake up and recognize we are all wrong.

The biggest U-turn a person can make in their life is called repentance. 2 Corinthians 7:10a says, “Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret.” In regards to our relationship with God, we have all missed the mark and sinned against Him. This ultimately means we need to repent by admitting this fact and changing to be more like Christ. According to Grierson, “There are circumstances in which not to reverse course seems almost pathological.” Amen! The fool who does not repent will perish is the folly of their pride, sin and deception.

We become better people when we humble ourselves and admit we are wrong. Some call this moment a u-turn, others call it a flip-flop, but God calls it repentance. The Greek word for repentance is “metanoia.” It means a 180-degree return; you are walking one way, living for yourself and in sin, and you turn and begin to live for Jesus and His desires. Repentance is a complete change of mind, heart, and will. It is commanded of God and involves the turning of one’s entire being away from sin and unto God. Genuine repentance is one of the first steps we take to enter into a right relationship with God.

Finally, Grierson discovered a pattern that emerged in each of the individuals who made a u-turn. He writes, “What these personal turns had in common was the apprehension that, well, we’re all connected. Everything leans on something and is propped up by something.” This “something” is God.

Acts 17:28 says, “In God we live and move and have our being.” Whether we want to acknowledge it or not, we all lean on God and we are all connected to Him. Also, our decisions in life are not lived out in a vacuum. Every decision we make affects people in a positive or negative way. Remember, we can make a favorable impression on the world by admitting when we are wrong.

Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near (Matthew 4:17). Get right by admitting your wrong!