Paying The Price

Making amends means “I’ve harmed someone.” Not an easy thing to do. First, if I have harmed someone, they “certainly deserved it or had it coming to them.” Secondly, whenever I apologize, I admit that “I did something that is or was wrong - and that simply is not like me to do something like that.” Or, “They are too sensitive - they shouldn’t wear their feelings on their sleeves or shoulders. It’s about them, not me. I know what I’m doing.”

Unfortunately, those options do not agree with God’s Word. First, “All have sinned.” So, I’m not in any position to harm anyone. Secondly, “No one is righteous, not even one.” Well, there goes my reputation. Or, “If you have never committed a sin, pick up a stone and throw it at the first person you see - for they surely have!” So, when I investigate my stone-carrier, it’s empty.

“Fools,” according to Solomon, “mock at making amends for sin, but goodwill is found among the upright.” This includes all of us in one way or another. One who “mocks at making amends” would be a person who has no sense of right or wrong or personal accountability for their actions. They turn a “blind-eye” to God’s “ever-present, watchful eye.” That’s not wise!

To feel unaccountable for our sin implies that we will not be judged by God or man. That surely is foolish, for one day we will all stand before God to be judged. On the other hand, “men of goodwill” are those who want to be “approved” by God and others for the way they act. They want their relationships, beginning with God, to be open and beyond reproach. “Do to others as you would have them do to you” is what making amends is all about.

Prayer: Lord, it’s much easier to live in denial than to be a person of honesty and integrity. Give us courage, when we are or do wrong, to seek forgiveness. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

Scripture For Today: Proverbs 14:9 Fools mock at making amends for sin, but goodwill is found among the upright.