I acknowledged my sin to You, and I did not cover my iniquity; I said, "I will confess my transgressions to the Lord," and You forgave the iniquity of my sin. Psalm 32:5

Sirgiogio Clardy is a man who appreciates the law.

Mr. Clardy has good reason for this perspective. Right now he is serving a 100-year sentence in a jail in Oregon. That sentence is based on three different events that took place during the last few years. First, Mr. Clardy robbed a man. Second, he beat up an 18-year-old woman, and third, he stomped repeatedly on the face of a fellow who owed him money.

But as I say, Mr. Clardy appreciates the law.

That appreciation has caused Mr. Clardy to sue Nike tennis shoes for selling dangerous weapons. You see, Mr. Clardy was wearing Nike shoes when he stomped on that man's face. Mr. Clardy figures that if he had stomped on the man with his bare feet, the damages to that individual would have been less, and he then would have received a lesser sentence.

To rectify the situation, Mr. Clardy wants Nike to label their shoes as being dangerous weapons and pay him $100 million for his unfairly long prison sentence.

Mr. Clardy is a fine representative for humanity. He, like most folks, doesn't want to admit he has done anything wrong. He, like most of our species, wants to blame someone else. In the Garden of Eden, Adam blamed Eve for sin and Eve blamed the snake. Today we hear of school shooters who murder their classmates because they were teased. At a lesser level, every policeman can give a laundry list of excuses he has heard from speeding motorists. The common denominator in those excuses is "It's not my fault."

Such an attitude doesn't sit well with our perfect Lord.

He sent His Son into this world to carry and pay the price for all of humanity's sins. This Jesus did through His life, suffering, death and resurrection. Now, by God's grace and Holy Spirit-given faith, all who believe on Jesus as their Savior are forgiven and saved.

But when people get proud and haughty, when they say, "I'm not to blame" or "It's not my fault" or "Someone else is responsible" that causes a problem. The Lord wants us to know if we say we have no sin, we are deceiving ourselves. More than that, if we make such a claim, then we are also saying, "I have no need of a Savior or His forgiveness or His help."

We are saying, "I can take care of my salvation on my own."

Well, we can't.

Far better for us to join with the Psalmist and say, "I acknowledged my sin to You, and I did not cover my iniquity. I confessed my transgressions to the Lord, and He forgave the iniquity of my sin."

THE PRAYER: Dear Lord, may I be truthful to myself and repentant before You. I am a sinner and need the Savior. I give thanks He has come to save me from myself. In Jesus' Name I give thanks. Amen.

In Christ I remain His servant and yours,

Today's Bible Readings: Genesis 27-28    Matthew 18:21-35

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