Have you ever messed up in your life? More importantly, have you ever had to admit that you made a mistake or a wrong decision? Almost all of us can answer "Yes!" to at least one of those questions. However, some mistakes are more obvious than others.

A minister shared this story about his life:

"I loved to sing and was often asked to sing at special occasions for my church. One day something happened that totally blew me away. I came home visibly upset after consulting with a new widow about funeral plans for her recently deceased husband. My wife asked what was wrong, and I told her that the wife had asked me to sing her husband's favorite song, "Jingle Bells," at the funeral.I was troubled that it wasn't appropriate to the solemn occasion. I struggled and prayed about it, and finally decided to honor the grieving widow's wishes.At the funeral, still sensitive about how some of the mourners might react to hearing "Jingle Bells" at a funeral, I carefully introduced the song with words about appreciating the sense of humor and lightheartedness of the deceased.The widow had been very tearful during the service. Hearing the introduction to her late husband's "favorite song," she sat up and began to appear quite interested. As I began the song, the widow began to smile, and her tears dried up.She was actually giggling as I concluded, and I felt glad I'd decided to honor her request since it obviously had been so comforting.After the service she thanked me for sharing my music ministry, and with a big grin she added, "By the way, the favorite song I requested you to sing was 'When They Ring Those Golden Bells!'"
That may be at the top of his list of "life's most embarrassing moments," but a simple "I'm sorry!" probably took care of the misunderstanding.

Sometimes in life, we do or say things that are more than just "misunderstandings." Sometimes, we know something is wrong and we do it anyway. That, my friend, is called "rebellion." It's funny that we have no trouble identifying a rebellious child, but we can't see — or refuse to see — that same problem in our own lives. Yet, this is a real problem, one with which each of us has to deal. The real concern comes when we are dealing with a problem of rebellion towards God and His Word. The Psalmist writes, "Therefore, let all the godly confess their rebellion to you while there is time, that they may not drown in the floodwaters of judgment." (Psalm 32:6 NLT)

Notice the key words again: "let all the godly confess their rebellion ... that they may not drown in the floodwaters of judgment." Such confession carries with it the concept of repentance. Repentance is to stop what we are doing, turn around and go the other direction with our lives until we get our behavior and our hearts corrected. Paul reminded us that such "godly sorrow brings about repentance that leads to salvation." (2 Corinthians 7:10) Repentance is necessary to escape the "floodwaters of judgment."

So, how are you doing?
The problem is that some folks think that God is just standing by watching them and waiting for an opportunity to catch them doing the wrong things. That's just not true! God's desire is that everyone will get it right! Peter wrote long ago that "the Lord isn't really being slow about his promise to return, as some people think. No, he is being patient for your sake. He does not want anyone to perish, so he is giving more time for everyone to repent." (2 Peter 3:9)

So, how are you doing at "getting your things right"? How are you doing at making the right decisions, saying the right things, and treating others in the right way? How are you doing at getting life right? Could it be that it's time for you to begin to repent — to say you're sorry, change directions with your life, and start working on getting things right according to God's directions?

Let's commit to do things God's way and to be willing to repent and to confess when we don't!