"Admit your faults to one another and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The earnest prayer of a righteous man has great power and wonderful results." James 5:16 (TLB)
On October 9th, after completing the Portland Marathon, Michelle Arnold and dozens of other runners reported running a half mile longer than the 26.2 mile distance after missing a turn. The event's director, Les Smith, said he believes that either a volunteer was not posted at the intersection or that a sign blew away during the race's downpour. What bothered the runners more than the mistake though was that the race was slow to acknowledge the error-not issuing a public statement until October 12th. And while the race was adjusting the times for those affected, thus righting their wrong, it would certainly have served them well to have admitted their fault earlier.
When it comes to taking responsibility for our actions, the Bible explicitly tells us that we are to admit our faults to one another and then pray for each other so that we may be healed. You see, not only does saying, "I'm sorry" to the person or persons we have wronged help us to be forgiven and move forward, doing it quickly can also prevent any animosity or hurt feelings from forming.
So may we learn from this story that it is always wise to promptly acknowledge when we are wrong and then work to make that wrong right because as Robert Half writes, "Not admitting a mistake is a bigger mistake."
Heavenly Father, we thank you for always forgiving us when we have made mistakes. Help us to be people that take responsibilty for our actions and our words. When we have erred, help us to take steps to keep the situation from escalating by saying I'm sorry and meaning it. It's in your precious name we pray, Jesus.
Happy Running!!!
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