Recently, a retired local pastor posted a story on his Facebook page. He was excited to share it, as it conveyed a powerful, Biblical message. However, one of his friends corrected him. The story was fake.
The local pastor did something that not many people would be willing to do. He didn’t just delete the story. He took it a step further. This man posted a public apology to his friends. He let them know he was wrong, posted a story that wasn’t true, and that he was sorry.
He also thanked the friends who had corrected him. He didn’t want to stay uncorrected. The pastor was also willing to accept rebuke.
We’re Not Right All The Time
It’s easy to brush past the moments when we fail, share something incorrect, or don’t do the right thing. Why not? Who will see us? Who will call us out?
The truth is, we won’t be perfect. We’re going to fall short. We’re going to make mistakes.
And people will see it.
Whether or not they speak up is another thing. Still, they see us in our failures.
What we do after we fail is crucial to our future.
I love what this retired local pastor did. He could have let his fake story fall out of the Facebook algorithms. He could have doubled down. But he didn’t do that.
Instead, the pastor owned his mistake. He admitted he was wrong and made a public confession for all to see. The mistake wasn’t swept under the rug.
Admit When You’re Wrong
We’re all going to make mistakes. Why not admit when you’re wrong? Here are three ways to say you screwed up, but it’s okay…
1. Acknowledge the error:
If someone brings up your mistake or error, acknowledge it. Don’t try to deny it (if you were really wrong). Instead, own it.
You can say, “Yes, I see where I was wrong. I’m going to do better.” The person who brought up the error will more than likely accept your acknowledgement.
That’s great.
2. Apologize:
You may not need to make a public apology like this pastor, but you do need to apologize to those you wronged. Once again, this can be as simple as saying you’re sorry, acknowledging you’re wrong, and committing to do better.
By apologizing, you show that you didn’t mean what you did. You also show that you’re not above correction.
Apoloizing means the world to those around you. Be willing to apologize.
3. Commit to doing better:
Both examples above include a commitment to do better next time. It’s easy in our social media, quick bites world to just move on after we’ve made a mistake.
That’s not what you do, though. You want to do better.
So, you acknowledge what went wrong. You apologize. And you commit to doing better. You may even go so far as to ask for accountability.
We’re all going to mess up at some point. How we go on from there is what matters. Don’t be afraid to acknowledge, apologize, and commit to doing better. The more you do this, the better you’re going to get at improving in the areas you’re weak.
It’s okay to admit that you’re wrong…
