You Done Messed Up...
#210
Friend,
“You done messed up A-A-Ron.”
When I introduce myself to people, I can tell by the glimmer in people’s eyes when they are thinking of this Key and Peele sketch. They get a chuckle out of the A-A-Ron.
But when I think about this sketch, I get caught up in the first part, “You done messed up…”
Throughout our weeks, we have opportunities to encounter places we’ve fallen short (or done messed up). It might be big or little; isolated or repeated; consequential or minute, but we mess up. The big question is what we do next. The road you take at the fork following failure is one of the most important steps you can make.
You can choose to:
Condemn yourself. Hear the voice “you done messed up” over and over. Never move forward from your failure; instead, carry the shame forward.
Circumvent your actions. You can pretend it didn’t happen. Make up excuses or blame someone else. Ignore the problem, hoping no one will notice.
Confess your sins. Acknowledge the mistake. (Confession is agreeing with God on what is true.) And make amends.
Condemning and circumventing both make mistakes bigger because they linger. Ignoring it (circumventing) or self-shaming (condemning) are not the way to healing, and your weariness grows when you let these things linger instead of letting them go. Telling the truth and moving forward may have the most immediate pain, but is the pathway to healing.
So, today you will find yourself at the fork following failure (“You done messed up…”), the road you take will make all the difference.
Love,
Aaron
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