Today, my son learned a valuable lesson about admitting his mistakes when they happen, rather than covering them up.
It was dinner time, and my family had just sat down to eat. I glanced toward our kitchen ceiling and noticed two prominent water marks.
Realizing it was coming from our upstairs bathroom, I brought it to my husband’s attention, and we both hurried up the stairs. After using a towel to absorb the water under our sink and making sure we had no pipe issues, we started investigating possible causes for the leak.
I thought of another time when water had leaked through to the kitchen ceiling. Our son had filled the bathroom sink with water so he could play with a floating toy, and a small hole at the top of the basin had caused the area under the sink to flood.
The water marks were in the same locations as last time, so I yelled for our son and asked him if he had filled the sink again.
“No, I washed my hands,” he replied.
This mini flood was not caused by hand washing.
I patiently asked him if he had done anything else.
He bowed his head and with a shocked look on his face responded, “Oh, I forgot. I did try to fill this up with water.”
He pulled a rubber toy out of his pocket. Then, showing me how he had filled it up, he inserted the water spout into a hole in the object and started the faucet again.
Water spewed everywhere, including all over my husband who was still under the sink. After we cleaned up the mess, we discussed the incident with our son.
At first, we thought he was unaware of the mess he had made earlier, but eventually, the truth came out.
He knew he would get in trouble for making another water mess, so instead of telling us in time to lessen the damage, he decided to cover up his mistake by waiting for us to discover it on our own.
His plan did not work. He did receive loving correction and will have to deal with the consequences of his actions.
It is easy to see where my son went wrong. In fact, it is almost laughable to think he really believed he would get away with leaving a pool of water under the sink.
He was going to get caught.
You know, I think we as adults have the same silly tendencies. We make mistakes and try to ignore them or cover them up, hoping we won’t get caught.
Just in case you think my assertion is harsh, please take a minute to consider the following questions –
- If we make a mistake in our relationship with our spouse, child, co-worker, or friend, do we admit it quickly, or do we justify our shortcomings to preserve our pride and/or reputation?
- If we have a mishap while performing our jobs or dealing with other responsibilities, do we find a way to keep others from knowing we made an error in the first place?
- Does the fear of consequences prevent us from being honest when we unintentionally do something wrong?
- When struggling to get past a bad habit or addiction, do we hide our issue instead of seeking help?
We may not want to admit it, but many of us can relate to this list of questions. We go to great lengths to make others think we have it all together.
We live in a world where self-preservation is valued above self-sacrifice. Even Christians, who strive to lay-down-their-lives-for-others, struggle to be honest with God and fellow Christians about their weaknesses and mistakes.
For example, a person might stand in the crowd watching other believers walk forward to confess their sins and areas of needed healing, but he/she will not go forward out of pride, fear, or denial.
I can think of a few instances when I needed help with character development, but I refused to confess my faults to other Christians and even to God. Instead, I waited until a friend, leader, or God exposed my behavior and/or attitude. When I refused to be transparent, it made my life more painful and caused undue hardship on others.
If our son had swallowed his pride and told my husband or me about the water, we could have prevented at least some of the damage to our kitchen ceiling. Now, everyone is paying a higher price than necessary for his decisions.
I believe we can all learn from his experience.
If we will get honest with ourselves, God, and others, maybe we will avoid unnecessary consequences and heartache. Honestly, the people closest to us probably see many of our mistakes and flaws already, and we can’t hide anything from God.
Admitting our mistakes can be scary and painful. We become vulnerable when we expose our flaws to others, and our transparency leaves us open to rejection and scrutiny. It takes humility, courage, and honesty to admit our struggles. However, revealing our shortcomings is a necessary risk if we want to experience lasting character development.
Yes, owning our mistakes will cost us something, but I believe hiding them will cost us and others more.
Thanks for reading my post, and please feel free to leave a comment.