2021 Daily Devotion - Day 333

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One of my favorite TV shows, back in the day, was Happy Days. It focused on Ritchie Cunningham and his friends in the 1950’s. It was an attempt to show what teens in Wisconsin were experiencing in the years following WWII.

One of the great characters in the show was The Fonz, or Fonzie which was short for his given name of Arthur Fonzarelli (played by Henry Winkler, who I had the pleasure of spending time with once). He was not like the other friends of Ritchie’s. Most of Ritchie’s friends were going to high school and having a good time. But Fonzie didn’t really go to school. He rode a motorcycle and was interested in girls, and they were very interested in him. Ritchie and his friends would often go to Fonzie for advice and he would say, “step into my office,” which was the bathroom at the diner where they all hung out. Fonzie had a unique problem because he could never admit when he was wrong. At least, he could never say the actual words. Instead, he would say, “I was wrr….I was wrr….I was not exactly right.”

There are many people like Fonzie who cannot say they are wrong. Yet, I contend you are a healthier person when you can say, “I am wrong,” when you are. Not only are you healthier, but all of your relationships will be better when you do admit when you are wrong. This was very important to Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount when He taught the following:

Matthew 5:23-24 ESV
So if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar and go. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift.

God would rather have us work on the reconciliation of relationships with others before we give Him our offering. By this, He is teaching us our vertical relationship with God is interdependent with our horizontal relationships with others. So when we are wrong, let’s take the healthy step and say so.

Pray with me:
Heavenly Father, too often because of pride and arrogance, we cannot admit when we are wrong. But we are mentally and spiritually healthier when we do. Help us to say we are wrong when we are, so we can have more functional relationships with You and others. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Yours because of Him,
Pastor John R. Steward
Senior Pastor
Mount of Olives Church
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