Dear Friend
Have you ever felt the discomfort of doing or saying something
that was embarrassing? I plead guilty. I can’t begin to count the number of
things I have done in my life that have been embarrassing. How about calling
Mrs. Snow, Mrs. White (so much for those memory association programs),
preaching a stewardship sermon on Mother’s Day (not a good idea if you are
concerned about pastoral longevity), or walking up to the Sunday pulpit and
announcing that you were too overcome emotionally to share a message and then
simply walk from the pulpit and sit down in the pew. I have done them all.
Yesterday I was in the field during a tense state baseball game.
The score was tied, and the crowd was hanging on every pitch.
The batter hit a line drive right at me and in my effort to dodge
being hit, I quickly moved to my right and the next thing I knew I was
sprawled face down on the ground as the ball passed whizzed over my head.
I was in no position to see if the second baseman caught the ball or not, which
is not a good thing for an umpire who is supposed to make the call and yet has
no idea of what has just happened.
As you can imagine both coaches were yelling for a call. Embarrassed
I had to go to my partner, something that is not uncommon for umpires to do,
and fortunately he saw everything, and we got the call right.
My embarrassment was heightened, however, when I heard someone
yell from the stands, “Hey grandpa, you missed the call.”
Having said all this, I am sure you have also had your
embarrassing moments, and so you probably can identify with the painful feeling
of embarrassment when you did something or said something you regretted.
Imagine the embarrassment Christ must have felt when his own
family thought he had lost his mind. Or when the Pharisees delighted in
taunting him and sought to set traps to embarrass him and derail his witness.
Despite all these moments of potential embarrassment, Christ kept
His eyes on His Father, depending solely on Him to know what to say and do in
every situation.
When we find ourselves ashamed or embarrassed by something that we
have said or done, we can do two things.
First, we can seek comfort from the Holy Spirit. We can allow him
to take the stings of our embarrassment, trusting that He will calm and ease
our discomfort (2 Corinthians 1:4). Let us not respond in anger or try
and make excuses, but simply rest and rely on the Holy Spirit to heal the
discomfort of our embarrassment.
And secondly, remember everyone’s life is filled with mistakes,
but as a believer we have someone who has taken every one of our mistakes to
the cross. No need for self-condemnation and it’s deadly effects.
Remember the words of that old hymn: “Jesus paid it all. All to
Him I owe. Sin has left a crimson stain. He washed it white as snow.”
He paid for our sins, which include every dumb or embarrassing
thing we have ever said or done.
As the late saint Corrie Ten Boom used to say, “He had buried our
sins (including everything you wished you had never said or done) in the
deepest part of the ocean and put up a sign that says no fishing.”
Yes, today I can laugh about my failure as an umpire, and that
includes not only yesterday’s failure on the field, but every one of
those times I have called a ball a strike, or missed a call at the plate or
yes, uttered something I wished I could take back or done something that
I regretted.
And today even that, “Hey grandpa, what’s the call?” is something
I can laugh about!
Yours in faith and friendship,
Tom
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