When you are wrong

January 20, 2012

I felt like this was an appropriate post after my last post and something I have been thinking about lately. Sometimes people are wrong ~~(not me, but other people)~~.

Sometimes you are wrong.

And sometimes people will point out to you that you are wrong.

When people point out to you that you are wrong, and you really are wrong that is the easiest part of ministry because then you stand up and admit that you are wrong and then we can move on.

The problem becomes when you aren’t wrong. When a person points out something that they believe to be wrong and it isn’t actually wrong.

Sometimes it is just a misunderstanding. Sometimes a brief conversation will fix the belief that someone is wrong.

But sometimes, it goes much deeper. It goes beyond misunderstandings and goes into a place of fear. At that point the easiest thing for the accused to do is stiffen up the back, stand a little straighter, plant our feet and refuse to move.

This is quite possibly the worst thing for a pastor to do.

In Christ’s work of the cross we are shown love. The authorities feared Jesus and decided to kill him. Jesus did not strike back, dig in, or go after them. Instead Jesus showed love and forgiveness to them.

That is our call, to forgive people for their fear, to love them in the midst of their fear, and to show them that love wins even when we are wrong.