The Courage to Make Things Right: What God Teaches Us About Admitting Our Mistakes

OCTOBER 8, 2026 | DAILY DEVOTIONAL

Some of the hardest words we will ever say are also among the simplest: “I was wrong. I’m sorry. I want to make things right.” Scripture teaches us that acknowledging our mistakes is not the end of our dignity. Sometimes, it is the beginning of genuine spiritual growth.

The Apology We Keep Postponing

There is a particular kind of silence that settles between people after something painful has happened.

Perhaps it begins with an argument at the kitchen table. Someone raises their voice. A sentence is spoken in anger, and the room becomes quiet. Hours later, everyone continues with their daily responsibilities, but something remains unsettled.

Or perhaps the damage happens at work. A mistake is made, and instead of accepting responsibility, someone allows a colleague to carry the blame.

Sometimes the wound is older. A friendship ended badly. A family member stopped calling. Years passed, yet certain memories still return unexpectedly.

We may know exactly what needs to be said, but knowing and doing are different things.

Why is it so difficult to admit that we were wrong?

Because an apology asks us to surrender something we often protect carefully: the image we have of ourselves.

We want to believe that we are kind people, responsible parents, faithful friends, honest workers, and sincere Christians. When our actions contradict that image, we face an uncomfortable choice. We can defend our behavior, or we can confront it.

The Bible does not teach us to pretend that we never fail. It teaches us to respond to failure with truth, repentance, and humility.

God does not require us to manufacture an appearance of perfection. He calls us to walk honestly before Him.

1. Zacchaeus: A Man Who Could Not Undo His Past

In Luke 19, Jesus enters the city of Jericho. Among the people who want to see Him is a wealthy chief tax collector named Zacchaeus.

Tax collectors occupied a controversial place in their communities. Working within the Roman taxation system, they were often associated with exploitation and dishonesty. Zacchaeus was wealthy, but his position did not necessarily bring him respect.

Because he was short and could not see over the crowd, Zacchaeus climbed a sycamore tree to see Jesus passing by.

Something unexpected happened.

Jesus stopped, looked toward him, called him by name, and announced that He would stay at his house.

The crowd complained that Jesus had chosen to visit someone they regarded as a sinner.

But what follows is one of the most revealing moments in the story.

Zacchaeus declares that he will give half of his possessions to the poor and repay four times the amount to anyone he has cheated.

This was not simply an emotional reaction. He identified a concrete way to address wrongdoing.

Notice the order of events. Jesus approached Zacchaeus before Zacchaeus announced his restitution. His willingness to make things right emerged in the context of an encounter with Christ.

That distinction matters.

We do not purchase God’s acceptance through impressive acts of repentance. Instead, God’s grace calls us into a different way of living.

Zacchaeus could not travel backward and erase every dishonest decision. He could not change his history. But he could choose what to do next.

Sometimes repentance cannot repair yesterday completely. But it can prevent us from carrying yesterday’s dishonesty into tomorrow.

2. Why Admitting a Mistake Feels So Threatening

Most people do not wake up intending to hurt someone they love. Yet good intentions do not guarantee good behavior.

Under pressure, we become impatient. When embarrassed, we become defensive. When frightened of consequences, we search for explanations that make our actions seem reasonable.

Consider a parent who speaks harshly to a child after a difficult day.

The parent may be genuinely exhausted. Financial concerns, interrupted sleep, and work responsibilities may explain why patience was limited.

But those circumstances do not erase the effect of the words spoken to the child.

Both truths can exist together: the parent was struggling, and the child was hurt.

Responsibility begins when we stop using the first truth to dismiss the second.

Many apologies fail because they include an escape route:

“I’m sorry, but you made me angry.”

The sentence sounds like an apology, but it shifts responsibility away from the person who caused the harm.

A more honest response would be:

“I was frustrated, but speaking to you that way was wrong. You did not deserve those words.”

The difference is significant. One explanation protects our pride. The other acknowledges another person’s pain.

Humility is not believing that we have no worth. Biblical humility includes having enough security in God’s grace to tell the truth about ourselves.

3. There Is a Difference Between Guilt and Repentance

Feeling bad about a mistake and responding faithfully to that mistake are not identical.

Guilt may awaken our conscience. But guilt can also leave us trapped in repetitive thoughts, shame, and self-condemnation.

The apostle Paul addresses a related distinction in 2 Corinthians 7:10, where he contrasts godly sorrow that leads toward repentance with a destructive kind of sorrow.

Consider two possible responses after hurting someone.

One person spends days thinking, “I am a terrible person. I ruin everything. Nothing about me can change.”

Another acknowledges the wrongdoing, asks God for forgiveness, offers a sincere apology, and begins changing the behavior that caused the harm.

Both may experience sadness. Yet only the second response moves toward meaningful change.

Repentance is not a performance of how deeply ashamed we feel.

It involves a changed direction.

Psalm 51 gives us an important biblical example. David does not merely express discomfort over the consequences of his actions. He acknowledges sin and appeals to God’s mercy, asking for a renewed heart and steadfast spirit.

The psalm does not minimize wrongdoing. Nor does it suggest that human effort alone can cleanse the conscience.

It presents a person bringing his moral failure before God rather than hiding it.

We can follow that pattern by confessing truthfully, seeking mercy, and taking responsibility where responsibility belongs.

4. Five Practical Steps Toward Making Things Right

Forgiveness, reconciliation, and restitution are deeply personal subjects. Every relationship has its own circumstances. Nevertheless, several practical principles can help us respond more faithfully when we recognize that we have caused harm.

Step One: Identify Exactly What You Did

A vague apology often avoids the most important part of the conversation.

Instead of saying, “I’m sorry about everything,” consider identifying the specific behavior:

“I promised to help you, but I did not show up or explain why.”

“I shared something private that you trusted me to keep confidential.”

“I blamed you for a decision that was mine.”

Specific language shows that we have considered what happened instead of merely trying to end an uncomfortable discussion.

Step Two: Resist the Urge to Defend Yourself

There may be a time to explain circumstances, correct misunderstandings, or discuss the behavior of everyone involved.

But an apology should not become a courtroom in which we argue that our actions were justified.

Listen carefully. Avoid interrupting. Allow the other person to describe the effect of your behavior without immediately correcting their feelings.

You can acknowledge someone’s pain even when you remember certain details differently.

Step Three: Ask What Repair Might Look Like

Zacchaeus provides a memorable example of repentance connected to tangible action.

In everyday life, repair can look different depending on what happened.

If you borrowed something and damaged it, you may need to replace it.

If you spread false information, you may need to correct the story with the people who heard it.

If you repeatedly broke a promise, you may need to establish habits that make future reliability possible.

If you neglected an important relationship, you may need to begin showing up consistently rather than making another ambitious promise.

Not every wound can be repaired completely. Sometimes no action can restore what was lost. But when reasonable restitution is possible, sincere repentance should not avoid it.

Step Four: Give the Other Person Time

An apology is not a contract that guarantees immediate forgiveness.

Someone may accept your apology while still needing space. They may forgive you but decide that trust must be rebuilt gradually.

They may also choose not to continue the relationship.

We cannot demand that another person recover at our preferred pace.

Respecting boundaries may be part of taking responsibility for the harm we caused.

Step Five: Practice Change When Nobody Is Watching

The deepest evidence of change is not always found in a dramatic conversation.

Sometimes it appears weeks later, when you encounter the same frustration and respond differently.

You pause instead of shouting. You tell the truth instead of hiding a mistake. You listen instead of dismissing someone. You keep a promise that would have been easy to forget.

These decisions may seem small, but they are how character is formed in ordinary life.

A sincere apology points toward a new direction. Consistent behavior helps demonstrate that we are walking in it.

5. What If the Person Refuses to Forgive You?

One of the painful realities of relationships is that we cannot control another person’s response.

You may apologize sincerely and receive no reply.

You may acknowledge a mistake and discover that the other person no longer wishes to speak with you.

You may want reconciliation long before the other person is ready to consider it.

Romans 12:18 offers a wise principle: believers should seek to live peaceably with others as far as it depends on them.

The wording recognizes a boundary to our control.

We are responsible for our own conduct, but a peaceful relationship cannot always be restored through the efforts of one person.

When an apology is rejected, examine whether you have genuinely accepted responsibility. Consider whether further restitution is appropriate. Then respect the other person’s freedom and boundaries.

Do not turn repentance into repeated unwanted messages, pressure, or demands for access to someone’s life.

Sometimes the most respectful expression of change is to stop insisting that someone give you another opportunity.

God can continue shaping your character even when a particular relationship remains unresolved.

6. When You Are the Person Who Was Hurt

There is another side to this conversation.

Perhaps you are reading these words while carrying the pain of someone else’s actions.

You were lied to. You were humiliated. Someone used your trust carelessly. Perhaps you received an apology that was followed by the same harmful behavior.

Christian teaching about forgiveness should never be used to pressure someone into accepting repeated mistreatment.

Forgiveness does not mean pretending that harm never occurred. It does not automatically restore trust, remove consequences, or require continued contact.

Reconciliation normally requires more than one person’s willingness. It requires honesty, accountability, and conditions in which a relationship can become safe and healthy.

If someone has threatened, abused, or repeatedly endangered you, maintaining distance and seeking appropriate support may be necessary.

You do not need to put yourself in danger to demonstrate Christian faithfulness.

Jesus taught mercy and forgiveness, but Scripture also calls us to wisdom, truth, and care for those who are vulnerable.

If you are the one who was harmed, you are not responsible for manufacturing another person’s repentance.

7. What an Ordinary Thursday Can Teach Us About Faith

We sometimes imagine that spiritual transformation must involve an extraordinary event.

We expect a powerful worship experience, an unmistakable answer to prayer, or a dramatic turning point that changes everything at once.

But imagine an ordinary Thursday.

A father arrives home after a frustrating shift at work. Earlier that morning, he had spoken impatiently to his daughter because the family was running late.

He remembers the look on her face.

That evening, instead of acting as though nothing happened, he sits beside her and says, “I was wrong to speak to you that way. Being late was stressful, but it was not your fault. I’m sorry.”

She listens. Perhaps she says very little.

There is no dramatic music. No audience applauds. Nothing about the moment appears extraordinary.

But something important has happened.

The father has shown that adults can accept responsibility. He has demonstrated that authority does not place someone above accountability. He has given his child an example of humility that she may remember long after the morning’s frustration has faded.

This is an illustrative situation, but it reflects a truth that applies to countless homes.

Our children, families, colleagues, and friends learn not only from what we say we believe, but from how we behave when belief becomes inconvenient.

Sometimes spiritual growth looks like an ordinary person choosing a different response to an ordinary mistake.

And that matters.

8. What Does God Actually Ask of Us?

Micah 6:8 describes a life characterized by justice, mercy, and humble walking with God.

These qualities are closely related to the way we treat others.

Justice refuses to ignore wrongdoing.

Mercy remembers that people are more than their worst moments.

Humility recognizes that we need God’s grace as much as anyone else.

Jesus also teaches in Matthew 5:23–24 that reconciliation with another person deserves serious attention in the life of worship.

His instruction challenges the idea that we can separate our devotion to God from our responsibility toward people.

Prayer is important. Worship is important. Reading Scripture is important.

But our faith must also enter the conversations we would rather avoid.

It must influence the way we speak when we are irritated, the way we treat people who cannot benefit us, and the way we respond when we have been corrected.

The Christian life is not simply about knowing the right words.

It is about learning, through God’s grace, to become people whose actions increasingly reflect what we confess with our lips.

9. Questions for Personal Reflection

1. When someone tells me that I have hurt them, do I listen or immediately defend myself?
2. Is there a relationship in my life where I have avoided taking responsibility for a mistake?
3. Have I confused feeling guilty with actually changing my behavior?
4. Do my apologies acknowledge the other person’s pain, or do they focus mainly on my intentions?
5. What would making things right look like in one specific situation?
6. What might God be teaching me about humility through a difficult conversation?

There is no need to rush through these questions. Some answers may be uncomfortable. Others may require patience, prayer, or wise counsel.

Allow the reflection to lead toward greater honesty rather than endless self-criticism.

10. A Final Thought: Your Next Decision Still Matters

Perhaps the most important thing you can take from the story of Zacchaeus is that his past did not have to determine every decision in his future.

He could not undo all that had happened. Yet his encounter with Jesus became the beginning of a different response to the people around him.

That possibility remains deeply meaningful for us.

You cannot retrieve every careless word. You cannot reverse every poor decision. You cannot guarantee that everyone you have disappointed will trust you again.

But you can choose honesty today.

You can take responsibility without pretending to be perfect.

You can make a sincere effort to repair harm instead of avoiding it.

You can ask God to shape your character through the decisions that no one else sees.

Grace does not make our choices meaningless. It gives us reason to believe that meaningful change is possible.

So before this day ends, consider one simple question:

Is there one thing I can begin making right today?

You may not be able to resolve everything immediately. You may need to seek advice, wait for an appropriate moment, or accept a boundary that another person has established.

But a faithful next step is still worth taking.

Not because it will earn God’s love, but because His love invites us to live differently.

Broken Souls & God | Faith for the Broken. Hope for Every Soul.