The New Way to Repent
November 27, 2006
Dear Friends
The world is redefining the way of repentance. A recent spree of celebrity misdeeds highlights this very dramatically. Former presidential hopeful, John Kerry, made the following apology concerning his recent “joke†about the young men in Iraq. He said “I sincerely regret that my words were misinterpreted.†In other words, I am sorry, but I am not guilty of anything. When Seinfeld’s Michael Richard let fly with the “N-bomb†in a midst of a tirade against a couple of hecklers in comedy club in LA, he apologized by saying “I am not a racist, that is what’s so insane about this.†In other words, despite my obvious behavior, I am not what I appear to be. We, the outside observers, are the ones with the problem because we see behavior and think that it represents what is in the heart of the individual. This same tact was taken by Mel Gibson in his infamous anti-Semitic tirade during a traffic stop. Sorry to tell John, Michael and Mel, but Jesus says you are wrong.
O generation of vipers, how can ye, being evil, speak good things? for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh. A good man out of the good treasure of the heart bringeth forth good things: and an evil man out of the evil treasure bringeth forth evil things. (Matt. 12:34-25)
It’s a heart thing really. What comes out in our words and behavior comes from our hearts. It may be uncharacteristic of us, but it is part of who we are nevertheless. We are guilty and need to repent.
There is good news, however. We can be forgiven. We can have our hearts changed IF we repent.
In a way, I really feel sorry for these men. The only difference between me and these three men is that they are celebrities and I am not. Everyone knows who they are. To quote a line from a movie, “Everyone in the world knows who you are, my mother has trouble remembering my name.†If I say or do something stupid, it is not going to make worldwide headlines. I might even have trouble getting anyone to notice! Hopefully, though, another difference is that when I say or do something sinful, I am genuinely repentant and not just expressing regret.
I am sure John, Michael and Mel are sorry about what happened if only for the fact that it has seriously damaged their reputations and careers. Who wouldn’t be regretful? The fact is that one cannot profess both repentance and innocence at the same time. True repentance is also an admittance of culpability. End of story. We can dance all around that fact all that we want, but in the end, you can’t repent (turn around, change your ways, etc.) of something you never did in the first place. Likewise, protestation of mitigating circumstances is equally ineffective. Mel Gibson’s excuse of being drunk during his anti-Semitic rant is only further indictment of another sin rather than a “get of our jail free card†for his hateful speech. Michael Richards saying that it is not the real him is equally misdirecting.
As it comes to forgiveness, I have nothing to forgive these three men for. I am neither Jewish, black or a member of the US military. I don’t know them personally. They are not a member of my faith. I do not bear any ill-will toward them whatsoever. They might be the greatest guys in the world for all I know. Hypothetically, though, if these men did come to me and ask to become of member of my ecclesia and confessed their sins in this particular manner, their “confession†of their sins would not pass muster. You can’t be forgiven of sins that you didn’t commit or possessed no personal culpability. Neither can we.
Have a great week,
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