THOSE THREE LITTLE WORDS MEN FIND SO HARD TO SAY…
The world is fixated on those three little words that men find so hard to say. You know, when you think about it, it’s an entire industry, complete with greeting cards and movies and songs and poems and novels and short stories. But like most things our world does, they got it wrong. If you are really honest with yourself, it isn’t so hard to say, “I love you.” You say it all the time, usually to the wrong things – your big screen TV, the Detroit Lions (this season maybe), or your truck. Especially your truck. Nope, the three little words men actually find hard to say are quite different. It’s actually, “I was wrong.”
Gotta be real here – I don’t like it when people say, “I am sorry.” That’s too easy – it’s an expression of an emotion, not an acknowledgment of a reality. Usually it means, “I’m sorry you were offended,” or “I’m sorry you’re being such a jerk about this.” No, what we really need to do is level with God and others and ourselves and just say, “I was wrong.”
It’s not like God and your family or boss or friends don’t already know it. The only person we really ever successfully lie to is ourselves. Own it, guys. Admit you were wrong.
Saul, the king, did a lot of dumb things – yeah, just like me and you. When caught, he always had an excuse ready and waiting – yeah, just like me and you. It also got him and his sons rejected by God to be kings over Israel, denied a dynasty, a discouraging fact because Jonathon would have been great in the job. David did even dumber things than Saul – he slept with a man’s wife and then had him killed. But when David messed up and got caught, he immediately admitted it. “I was wrong,” he said, or put more poetically,
“ 3 For I know my transgressions,
and my sin is always before me.
4 Against you, you only, have I sinned
and done what is evil in your sight;
so you are right in your verdict
and justified when you judge.” (Psalm 51:3-4)
David was honest and willing to own it; he had sinned. God gave him an everlasting dynasty. Humble yourself, suck it up, and just admit it next time – “I was wrong.” “Humble yourself in the sight of God and He will lift you up.” (James 4:10). You know what – if you can admit you were wrong, you will grow ten times in the eyes of your wife and children. Then top off that slice of humble pie with the perfect scoop of ice cream – ask to be forgiven. It stops the cycles of recriminations and breaks through the arguing and heals.
You know what? Saying these three little words is actually the best way to say those other three little words.
Written By: Tim Barsuhn
