What to Do When You Have Done Wrong

Many years ago in Texas the governor visited the state prison to talk to the prisoners. After his speech he told the men that if anyone wanted to come and talk with him, he would gladly listen to their story. 

One by one the men came up to talk to the governor. They all told him that they were in prison because they had been treated unfairly, or that there had been some mistake on someone else’s part. Finally one man came up and said, “Mr. Governor, I just want to say that I am guilty. I did what they sent me here for. But I believe I have paid for it, and if I were granted the right to go out, I would do everything I could to be a good citizen and prove myself worthy of your mercy.”

Which prisoner do you think received a pardon from the governor? That’s right—the man who honestly confessed that he had done wrong. In the same way, when we come to God and tell Him that we have sinned, He is more than willing to pardon us. The Bible says that “God is faithful and fair. If we admit that we have sinned, he will forgive us our sins. He will forgive every wrong thing we have done. He will make us pure” (1 John 1:9, NIrV).1

If we confess just to avoid punishment, we are not truly sorry for our sins.

Ellen White explains in the book Steps to Christ, in the chapter called “Confession,” that when we confess our sins to God, we should tell Him exactly what we have done wrong.2 Sometimes, if others know about our wrong actions, or if we have hurt a lot of other people, we must confess our sins publicly. But in most cases we should talk only to God about it. We should feel truly sorry for what we have done, and sincerely ask God to forgive us. If we confess just to avoid punishment, we are not truly sorry for our sins. When we really confess our sins, we can begin to understand how much God really loves us and the big sacrifice that Jesus made for us. 

Have you done something wrong? Tell God honestly that you are sorry. Ask Him to forgive you and help you not to do it again. He will help you. Remember: “Anyone who hides his sins doesn’t succeed. But anyone who admits his sins and gives them up finds mercy” (Proverbs 28:13, NIrV). That’s a promise!

1 Texts credited to NIrV are from the Holy Bible, New International Reader’s Version. Copyright © 1985, 1996, 1998, 2014 by Biblica, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

2 Ellen G. White, “Confession,” Steps to Christ (Mountain View, Calif.: Pacific Press Pub. Assn., 1956), p. 38.