“If your brother or sister sins, go and point out their fault, just between the two of you. If they listen to you, you have won them over” (Matthew 18:15, NIV).

I was standing in front of a patient room surrounded by residents on my weekly professor rounds, expounding on topics related to breast cancer. My senior fellow then spoke up, “I don’t think you are right,” and explained why. To my embarrassment, she, the trainee, was correct and her professor was wrong.

Have you ever been wrong? Were you ever sure you knew what you were doing and discovered you were very much off base? Certainly, in medicine there is so much knowledge that we can’t always keep up with it, so we build systems to back us up when we make medical decisions. However, when they fail, being wrong hurts, both us and others.

What about the rest of life? Have you ever been wrong with your spouse, or children, or church? Ever been wrong in your anger, or criticism, or envy, or relationships? Have you ever made mistakes where you hurt another or caused a plan to fall apart publicly? Were you ever sure you could tolerate a certain level of temptation and found you failed?

What do we do when we discover we were wrong?

1. Accept it: I can be wrong. Humility is always a great lesson for me.
2. Admit it: In the long run, it is always better to confess than to hide.
3. Correct It: Did I mess things up that need fixing? It’s my job to be sure the fixing is done.
4. Learn from it: What did I do wrong that I won’t do again?
5. Apologize: If I need forgiveness from those who were hurt by my mistake, ask for it.
6. Reciprocate: Respectfully correct the wrong in others as my fellow did for me. She prevented me from perpetuating a point of care that might have harmed someone in the future. We should be as forthright when we help others see their mistakes, so they may avoid future damage.
7. Rest: Place my mistakes and their consequences in the hands of God, for His hands are strong enough to hold all the mistakes of mankind.

Dear Father,

Help me avoid future mistakes and correct those I fail to avoid.

Amen