Why "If" Doesn't Cut It
Theme of the Week: Doing a 180
Ken Sande
Monday, March 3, 2008
 1 of 1
Key Bible Verse: If we say we have no sin, we are only fooling ourselves and refusing to accept the truth 1 John 1:8.Bonus Reading:Nehemiah 9:1-3, 33
Investigative reporters discovered that a state official had misused his authority to secure a job for a woman he was dating. At first he denied any wrongdoing. The governor's office looked into it; soon the evidence against him was overwhelming. In a last-ditch effort to save his job, the man made this public statement: "It's entirely possible that I sent a wrong signal. If I did and I made a mistake, then I'm sorry."
Neither the public nor the governor was impressed by this feeble admission that neither admitted he'd done anything wrong nor committed himself to behaving differently in the future. As a result, this man lost a position that he might otherwise have held for years.
When confronted with wrongdoing, our natural tendency is to say, "I'm sorry if I did something that upset you." The word if robs a confession of any value. It shows what we really mean is: Obviously you're upset about something. Just to get you off my back I'll give you this token apology. When we use words like perhaps, maybe, possibly or I guess, they reveal we haven't yet taken responsibility for or accepted the consequences of our actions. Nor are we likely to change our behavior in the future.
—Ken Sande in The Peacemaker
My Response: What excuse-making or blame-shifting do I need to let go of?
Adapted from The Peacemaker (Baker, 1991, 1997, 2004) by permission.
Copyright © 2008 by the author or Christianity Today International/Men of Integrity magazine.Click here for reprint information on Men of Integrity. 1 of 1
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Prod me, Lord, to own up to my sin, deal with its consequences, and alter my behavior.
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