Defuse

Imagine that you are in a room. Inside the room, there is a bomb. It is a bomb of our own design. We built it with our own lies,deceit, and mistakes. And we are the only one that can defuse it. If we move to quickly, it could blow up prematurely and if we move to slowly it will take us out as well. We have to move with precision timing and with caution. This bomb made of sin is something every man can relate to. There are very few things that all men have in common. But one thing that every single one of us shares is the pain and consequences that we suffer over our mistakes, whether they are our own or the mistakes of others. 

There isn't a man alive or dead that is immune to failure. I fail my wife and so do you. I fail my kids and you do to. I have possibly failed you, the reader, at some point in my life. I fail my employees and my employer from time to time too. I even fail God. 

I am in the middle of reading through resumes and when I see abrupt or short term employment, I often think they quite possibly include occasional failures. I know that my own resume has more than one or two. When asked about our failures it is human nature to try and minimize the damage. I am amazed at how creative humans can be when we try to justify or redefine what really happened or when we are trying to bury an issue all together. This is a time when we all wish that we could simply move on like it never happened at all. 

While the context has nothing to do with personal failure, there is a part of Acts 11:18 that fits pretty well right here, "repentance that leads to life."

Life, as in repentance that does not lead to death - There is no deeper remorse, no further deception, no further humiliation, no further complicating the situation. 

True repentance leads to life. It leads to joy and the ultimate level of fulfillment. It also leads to a fresh start. 

As I have grown older and hopefully wiser, I have learned that the best way to minimize the damage I do when I make a mistake, big or small, is to refuse my natural tendency to make excuses and to admit it immediately and reconcile it quickly. 

Think about how many times that you and I have encountered situations when a mistake or sin would not have caused nearly as much damage had we simply owned up to what we did quickly. We have to own the things we do. We have to use the repentance and grace that is freely offered to defuse the sin bombs and landmines in our lives.