Confess your mistakes

In "Boyhood and Beyond," author Bob Schultz recounts how a lesson that he learned as a teenager -- the easy way out of trouble is to confess your mistakes -- is still very relevant as an adult.

Twenty-five years later I stood in a huge bathtub gasping for breath. I couldn't believe what I had just done. I was framing on a new house and needed to install some blocking on the wall behind a four-foot-wide fiberglass tub. Stepping into it to reach the blocks, I accidentally dropped the air nailer I carried. It misfired and shot a three-and-a-half-inch nail through the bottom of the tub!

I felt sick. The same wrong thoughts that I faced years before came into my head.

'Don't tell anyone! Hide it. No one will know that you did it.' Does it surprise you that an older man would be tempted to hide his mistake? Men, at every age, want to hide their faults, but if we do hide them we are fools.

God's Spirit spoke loudly to my heart, 'You can't do that. You must tell the truth the first chance you get. The general contractor comes back in a couple of hours -- tell him.'

When the contractor did return, I pushed aside my strong desire to hide. Walking quickly to him, I told him my mistake. Now it was his turn to feel sick. He called the plumber, who called the manufacturer. Within minutes, the contractor came to me smiling. He announced, 'The tub company has a warranty policy on all of its tubs. Any construction damage they'll fix without charge.'

Schultz goes on to repeat that the easy way out of trouble is to confess your mistakes.

How we help each other grow

I love it when a church sermon meets me exactly where I'm at. That happened yesterday with the message that I heard at SouthMetro Vineyard Church. It was called "How We Help Each Other Grow".

God wants us to take care of each other -- 1 Th. 5:11 says, "Encourage each other and build each other up."

Here are the key ways from yesterday's message that we can help each other grow:

1. By affirming each other's worth

• With acceptance
• With attention
• With affection
• With appreciation

2. By praying for each other's growth

3. By admitting our own mistakes; the benefits of honesty are:

• Emotional healing
• A fresh start
• God's power to change
• Deeper fellowship

4. By encouraging each other's commitment

• Commit to love Jesus Christ
• Commit to love other believers
• Commit to grow in God's Word
• Commit to serving in ministry
• Commit to sharing the Good News

It's so easy to fall in the trap of putting each other down. I know that's not what God wants; He wants us to lift each other up and bring people closer to Him.