John H. Holiday, who was the founder and editor of The Indianapolis Star, stormed into the composing room of the newspaper one day. He was mad...ticked off. He had been reading the newspaper when he found a story where the word "height" had been spelled as "hight." Holiday was determined to find the person who had made the mistake and really let them have it. A copy editor checked the original copy of the story and discovered that it was Holiday himself who was responsible for the misspelling. When he was told that he said, "Well, if that's the way I spelled it, then it has to be right!" For over 30 years The Indianapolis Star misspelled the word "height."
Holiday's actions sometimes mirror ours. We find it difficult to admit our mistakes, don't we? At time, a three word sentence is the hardest for us to say: "I was wrong." Rather than admit our guilt or acknowledge our missteps, we cover up, make excuses, or shift blame to someone else. We'll often do anything but own up to a mistake.
Remember Cain? He became jealous because of his brother's offerings were received by God while his own were not. God gave Cain a chance to correct his mistake and do the right thing. But Cain refused and his anger ultimately led to his act of murder against Abel.
Mistakes are inevitable. We are not perfect people. We sin daily. So we have two choices. We can behave like Holiday and fail to acknowledge our error or we can humble ourselves before Almighty God and, in repentance, tell Him, "I was wrong." Like the psalmist David, you can say, "Then I acknowledged my sin to You and did not cover up my iniquity. I said, 'I will confess my transgressions to the Lord' - and You forgave the guilt of my sin." Don't let foolish pride get the best of you. It is God's nature to forgive and restore. Know that as you pray to the Father, "I was wrong," He is always ready to answer, "You are forgiven for the sake of My Son. Go in peace." Amen!
From June 19, 2012
