The audio for this devotional is not available for now, but you can have your device read it to you.
Reading options
Verse:So Jesus told those Jews who had believed in him, “If you continue in my word, you are really my disciples. And you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” —John 8:31, 32, ISV
As early as I can remember, my parents put two very important gifts into my heart—honesty and the art of apologizing. When my older brother and I would get into trouble, my mother would ask us who was to blame. Our instinct was always to blame each other by saying, “It wasn’t me” or, “I didn’t do it.” But Mom would always throw a mind-bending twist into the mix by saying (before we could avoid temporary punishment by lying or blaming each other), “Whoever tells the truth won’t get into trouble, even if it was you.”
This twist was a real challenge for a young child who had to weigh the options. It took a great deal of trust to rely on Mom’s word and a great deal of restraint on her part. Her emphasis on honesty was our teacher, and I quickly learned that telling the truth about bad behavior and mistakes would always be my best option. My father would often discuss the actions we confessed and determine if an apology was needed. He always said, “Apologizing will make you feel better.” He was right! It always did.
In my adult life, there are—and have been—constant opportunities to err, make mistakes, or exercise poor judgment, which have landed me in situations of accountability. My instinct has remained true to what I was taught as a child: if I’m honest, the results will always be better in the end. And the response to a person’s honesty is usually the same. It’s rare for someone to become enraged when the other party says in complete honesty, “It was me. I made a mistake, and I apologize. How can we move onward and upward from this situation?” The nature of most people is to forgive and understand, because who hasn’t made a mistake? This first act of humility brings out the second act of grace.
No matter what the wrong, we can always confess and ask for forgiveness. It takes trust and a willing heart to remove pride and fear, which tend to cripple us. My mom had the right idea about following God’s teaching on honesty and forgiveness. As Christians, we’ve been forgiven too much to constantly revisit the Garden where Adam and Eve fell—and then lied about it. Honesty truly does set us free and then allows love back into the equation.
Naomi Striemer.