You Need to Straighten Up

You need to repent. And you may need to pay for your mistake.

That’s what my flesh usually thinks, anyway. With regard to my failures, I think I need mercy and grace to avoid having to pay for my sin. It’s the syndrome that says those bugs are water bugs in my house, but cockroaches in yours. Or when my teenage son commits vandalism, the judge he is facing should extend to him as much mercy as the court can allow. When your teenage son does the same thing, the judge should teach him a lesson.

Jesus already paid for all of it. We all need to repent. That doesn’t mean we need to grovel in shame and condemnation. That’s how Jesus paid for it – He suffered the shame and condemnation.

Repenting means we have changed minds. We think differently. We then can respond differently to opportunities to be stupid or selfish or hateful.

So – repent.