Thinking of regrets may bring to mind the candy bar commercial of the man in the tattoo parlor who discovers that the artist had mistakenly written “No Regerts” instead of “No Regrets.” There is wonderful humor in the knowledge that this man had the goal of regretting nothing in life but must now be constantly reminded of the mistake that the absent-minded tattoo artist has permanently etched on his skin.
I will often watch interviews of actors. Not just the interviews about their latest movie, but rather the prodding interviews into their motivation and background. Recently, a well-known celebrity made a comment that having regrets is a healthy part of life. He disagrees with the goal society has set of having “no regrets” because without those mistakes we have nothing to improve. As with most celebrities, I take these type of philosophical statements with a grain of salt, but something in that statement has stuck with me.
We all know that “to err is human.” Mistakes are a natural part of life. In fact, if my math students never made mistakes, I’d be out of a job and they’d have no need to come to class. The mistakes we make in life prepare us for making better choices in the future. What we do with those mistakes is the important thing.
Of course, there are things in our past that we wish had never taken place. There are moments that come to mind that make us cringe in disgust, but the minute those memories lose that type of reaction is when there are issues. If we are not focused on improving our lives, those regrets will truly become things nightmares are made of. The endless “what ifs” will continually plague us until there seems to be no hope for peace.
Isaiah 53 came to mind while thinking through this topic: “All we like sheep have gone astray.” We’ve made mistakes. Many of those mistakes have not only hurt us but others as well. Isaiah, however, reminds that Christ has provided us with a remedy. He took our iniquity upon Himself that we may know peace. Yes, we make mistakes, but God is faithful to forgive. The important thing is to turn to Him. Allow the Holy Spirit to work in your life to turn your regrets into tools to be used for Him.
I hope this can be an encouragement to you. If you do not know the peace that Christ can offer, I sincerely hope that you will turn to Him today. If you are a follower of Christ, then I urge you to keep your focus upward as you continue to…
Walk in Him.
Walking in Him 