Everyone Stumbles

I have blogged before on the subject of none of us being perfect, but I was reminded today that everyone stumbles occasionally. I think that’s interesting, because I have been listening to Natalie Grant’s song, “I Will Not Be Moved.” The chorus of that song says, “I will stumble, I will fall down / But I will not be moved. / I will make mistakes / I will face heartache / But I will not be moved. / On Christ the solid rock I stand / All other ground is sinking sand / I will not be moved.”

Proverbs 24:16 tells us that a righteous man falls seven times, and gets back up, but a foolish man only falls once. Well, okay, I’m paraphrasing somewhat, but the idea is that it isn’t about how many times you fall, it’s about how many times you get back up. When you stop getting back up, that’s when you have a problem.

Of course, part of the process is repentance. Some people think that repentance is simply asking for forgiveness. It’s not. Repentance is like a U-turn: Having come to the realization that one is headed down the wrong road, one turns around and gets back on the right road. Should God forgive someone who isn’t sorry for what they did? If one were sorry for what one has done, wouldn’t one take steps to ensure that it doesn’t happen again? Don’t misunderstand me; I realize that many people make the same mistakes over and over again (been there, done that).

Let’s suppose for a moment that the sin that we are talking about is drunkenness. Our hero (and you won’t often hear me refer to a drunk as a hero) realizes that he has a problem, so he gets rid of all the booze in his house. That’s a good start, but he continues to hang out at bars with his buddies. Most nights, it doesn’t take very long before he doesn’t feel very sociable drinking ginger ale, especially after the third or fourth glass. After several months, he comes to the realization that, although he has “repented” of his drunkenness, he is still getting hammered three or four nights a week. He may feel completely justified in saying that he has repented, but, let’s face it, he hasn’t changed very much. What he hasn’t come to understand, yet, is that the time for him to decide whether or not to have a drink is before he steps into the bar. It’s pretty much inevitable that, if he goes in, he’s going to eventually talk himself into having “just one.” It’s equally inevitable that the one drink will talk him into a second one, and so on.

Now, you may think that I’m down on alcohol. I used drunkenness as an example because I think that we can easily see that progression. Maybe your problem is pornography, and you need to get the internet out of your house, and make sure you aren’t going anywhere that might expose you to your vice. Maybe your problem is soap operas, and you need to get rid of your TV, and arrange your beauty shop appointments later in the day (and, no, I don’t think all soap opera addicts are women, or that all women who are soap opera addicts go to beauty shops; I’m just saying). There’s a scene in “Jungle Fever” where Wesley Snipes’ character, an architect, objects to being assigned a white secretary. His bosses are a little surprised at this show of bigotry, and remind him that they can’t hire and fire based on color, only on qualifications—they would get in hot water with the EEOC. As the movie progresses, though, we find out that it isn’t a problem of bigotry: Snipes’ character knows that he has a weakness for women that are not his color, and he is trying to protect himself and his marriage. That was a show of wisdom on his part, and maybe, if he had been more open with his bosses about why he felt he needed a secretary of color, they might have been able to work something out, or at least made sure that he never wound up working late with her and nobody else around.

My point is, everybody makes mistakes. God forgives mistakes. God can even forgive the same mistake a number of different times. If one makes a mistake and realizes that this circumstance represents a weakness in one’s own spiritual armor, then one needs to take steps to protect oneself in the future. That is part of repentance. On the other hand, if one finds oneself making the same mistake over and over and don’t feel that it indicates a personal weakness, then one might want to consider the possibility that one is related to Cleopatra, because she was the Queen of Denial.

Repentance

I think that I have posted on this subject before, but I was just thinking about somebody I heard on the radio awhile back: He described a hypothetical situation (one that actually could happen) where a family is driving to a camp site, and the husband/father drives past a turn-off that the wife/mother thinks is the right road. He insists that it is not, and continues driving. 45 minutes later, without seeing another road even remotely resembling the road that they need to take, he admits his mistake, and turns the car around. The radio announcer pointed out that they still weren't on the right road, but at least they weren't going the wrong direction anymore.
Sometimes in life, we have to make a change. Sometimes we come to the realization that we have been headed the wrong way for quite some time, and didn't even know. Sometimes it's a humbling experience. Nobody wants to be wrong, but sometimes we resist the idea that we are wrong so much that we end up staying wrong. God doesn't want us to be wrong; He gave His only begotten Son so that we could be right. We still make mistakes, no matter how committed to the Lord we are. That's where grace comes in.

Of course, we shouldn't live the way we want to, and expect grace to pick up our slack. The Bible also tells us that the righteous scarcely be saved. I don't know about you, but I don't want to just barely make it in--although I think that's exactly what's going to happen. When we make mistakes, we have to repent, ask forgiveness, do our best to make things right, and then move on. Try to learn from your mistakes, don't beat yourself up over them, or wallow in them.

It occurs to me that in the parable of the prodigal son, the son wasn't forgiven when he 'came to himself' in the pig sty in that far country, not until he returned home. But the Father had been watching for him to return, and was anxious to forgive him, because He loved him so. Something else I heard on the radio once (I'm not sure if it's true, but it sure is a good illustration): There was a Brazilian farm boy who decided that he had had enough of farm life, and he took off to seek his fortune in Rio de Janeiro. He left home breathing his desire to become rich and successful in the big city. After several years of not hearing anything from him, the parents became worried, and hoped that he would be willing to return to the farm. So, father packed up an overnight bag, and took all the money he could, and went to the city. He checked into a hotel, and took out an ad in the newspaper: "José, all is forgiven. Please come home." and included the hotel and the room number (and check out time). More than a hundred José's showed up--none of them his son. He tried to spend time with each of these young men, talking to them as a father, how much he knew that their fathers would want them to return home. Each of the young men insisted that he didn't understand, and wouldn't even consider it. But, you see, God wants us to come home, and He has a much better plan for us.