That old saying "two wrongs don't make a right" definitely is true. Placed in the context of driving, if you make a wrong turn and then you attempt to get back on track by making a second wrong turn the end result is you are lost. Believe me I am speaking from experience, ask my wife. From the title of today's FTM message you may have noticed I placed the word "One" in place of "a", well just as in driving, two wrong actions or decisions won't all of a sudden make everything kosher. It is a little easier to own our right actions if we arrive at our destination without any unanticipated detours. Yet, it is critically important for us to own up when we make that wrong turn in life because being lost is one thing, but remaining lost has lasting effects on our lives and those that we live, love, and work with each day.
Back to our driving analogy, I don't want to stereotype us men, but if it's true I guess we have to own it. When we get "off course" driving, something deep down inside of us thinks that if we just take the next turn up ahead and then a second and a third turn then eventually we will magically be back on the right path. In my own experience, it would have been nice if it had worked out that way! My guess is that's true for most of us in the male species so we will state it as factual. Getting lost is one thing, accepting that you are lost and that you need help with directions to get back on the right route is a completely different feat. My stubbornness has cost our family countless minutes and hours over the years, when all I needed to do was stop going the wrong direction and ask someone for help. Hard to do? Well you wouldn't think so, but how else did men get the reputation that we have so rightfully earned? When we are driving down a wrong path the cost is time delayed on our arrival, when we are driving down the path of our wrong choices in life the cost is so much more.
Whatever those wrong choices are let's just go ahead and label them what they are, sin. Whether we hurt someone's feelings with our words, sin, or we rob a bank, sin, both are sins and need to be forgiven. Many times, the sins we commit that hurt those closest to us are the very ones that we don't want to turn around from and ask for help with from God. We want to place the blame on the other person making us look innocent in our own eyes. Wrong turn, wrong turn, won't get us back on track! Ownership of our sins is what we are asked to do. "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." I John 1:9. Just as in driving, but not just for men, this is hard to do for some reason. We either want to marginalize the wrong deed, justify it, or deny it is actually a sin in the first place. Remember in driving we need to stop driving in the wrong direction and ask for help, that is what's required for forgiveness of sins likewise.
Just to clarify, nobody is perfect. Paul reminds us of this truth in Romans 3:10 " as it is written: "None is righteous, no, not one;" " So why is it that we are so stubborn and unwilling to accept that we will make mistakes in this life we are living? Why do we not open ourselves up to self and admit that we have done wrong and that we need to ask for forgiveness? That admission of fault and the sincere desire to be forgiven not only impacts our life, it also has a lasting impact on those we have sinned against and for those that we love so much that learn from our actions in life.
If I am driving the wrong way, those in the car with me are my captive passengers and will be lost right along with me. The impact of being lost means that everyone in the car is going to be delayed in reaching the destination. That loss of time cannot be regained, and the longer we stay on that wrong path, the longer those with us miss out on the true destination we all desire to reach. Don't ever think that the sins we commit don't have an impact on others, they do.
As part of the family of believers it is our responsibility to own up to our wrongs and stop following a pathway that only leads to a dead end in life. We are His example to a dark world that is driving down a road that only leads to a dead end. If we don't illuminate this world then our sins will only highlight the pathway that leads to destruction. We must choose to step up, admit our fault, and then ask for forgiveness. In so doing we become an example for Him and we can become that roadside assistant for the next wayward driver! “No one lights a lamp and then hides it or puts it under a basket. Instead, a lamp is placed on a stand, where its light can be seen by all who enter the house." Luke 11:33
Are you driving down a wrong one way street? Are you packed down with luggage and instead of being headed to the beach you are headed down a darkened alleyway? The AAA roadside assistance is right there waiting for your call. "Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye. shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you: For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh. findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened." Matthew 7:7-8. Stop, Seek Him, and Turn Around. A wrong turn plus a right turn equals redemption!
Coach Carter
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