"I Was Wrong"

by Stan Mitchell

He wrote these words with a fountain pen before the greatest invasion in history began. The attempt to take the beaches at Normandy against Germany's entrenched defenses was a fearful risk. The effort would be massive, and if the attempt failed, he wanted someone to blame. Himself. 

"Our landing has failed," he wrote, "And I have withdrawn the troops. My decision to attack at this time and place was based upon the best information available. The troops, the air, and the navy did all that bravery and devotion could do. If any blame or fault attaches to the attempt, it is mine, and mine alone" (Dwight D. Eisenhower, June 5, 1944). 

Thankfully that was a message he never had to deliver. It's ironic to learn that the secret to greatness is the ability to admit failure. Three words, more difficult to pronounce than "Mephibosheth" are, "I was wrong." 

It's hard in a marriage to learn that the problem with us is me. It's too easy when we abandon the Lord to blame his church. People wonder why Saul was considered a failure as leader of Israel, and the flawed but earnest David achieved greatness. 

It's not that David made fewer mistakes; he admitted responsibility for them. 

"For I know my transgressions," he declared. We know our brethren's transgressions. David knew his own. "And my sin is always before me" (Psalm 51:3). In contrast, our sin is constantly repressed in our memories! 

How's your pronunciation of hard-to-say words?

 

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