“My Bad”

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Are you familiar with the modern day saying “My bad?” Perhaps you have even said these words. “My Bad,” is a half-hearted flippant apology that rings hollow and lacks true sincerity. It has been defined as: “A way of admitting a mistake, and apologizing for that mistake, without actually apologizing.” Why is it so hard to admit our mistakes? I wonder how many times we have inadvertently said, “My bad” to God. Please read more…..

Here is just one more definition of the phrase: “My bad”: “I did something bad, and I recognize that I did something bad, but there is nothing that can be done for it now, and there is technically no reason to apologize for that error, so let’s just assume that I won’t do it again, get over it, and move on with our lives.”

So again, I ask you, why is it so hard to admit our sins and mistakes to others? Pride is the enemy that tells us to remain silent about our faults. This silence keeps us from making a true apology for our sins. It walls us in. We need to progress from the words “my bad,” to the words, “I am truly sorry, please forgive me.”

The fact is, we learn from our mistakes. We gain wisdom from our screw ups. Pope Francis once said that the place that we encounter the mercy of God is in our sins. Our inability to admit our faults makes it harder for us to grow as Disciples of Christ. Failures can teach us in ways that successes cannot. Learning from our mistakes shapes us into better Christians. When we admit our weaknesses, we at the same time admit our dependence on our Savior. Admitting ours sins publicly makes them easier to avoid the next time.

Here are some wise words from Scripture:

Proverbs 24:16   “Though the just fall seven times, they rise again”

Daniel 11:35    “Some of those with insight shall stumble so that they may be tested, refined, and purified, until the end time which is still appointed to come.”

James 3:2  “For we all fall short in many respects.”

Psalms 145:15 “The LORD supports all who are falling.”

Romans 3:23  “All have sinned and are deprived of the glory of God”

2 Corinthians 12:9-10 “But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for power is made perfect in weakness.” I will rather boast most gladly of my weaknesses, in order that the power of Christ may dwell with me. Therefore, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and constraints, for the sake of Christ; for when I am weak, then I am strong.”

My message today is straight forward. It is better to admit our faults and failings than to hide them. When we hide our sins, they fester and cause us to continue in our failings. When our sins are brought to the light of day, Christ forgives us and the Christ in others can minister to us.

James 5:16 states clearly: “Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed.”

Allow me to share a few words from a prayer that is recited by Catholics at the beginning of each Mass. It is known as the Penitential Rite.

I confess to almighty God
And to you, my brothers and sisters,
That I have greatly sinned
In my thoughts and in my words,
In what I have done and in what I have
Failed to do,
Through my fault, through my fault,
Through my most grievous fault

The prayer concludes with each person asking Mary the Mother of God, all of the angels and saints and everyone one else gathered for Mass to pray to the Lord God for them. We would be wise to pray this prayer every day.

In the television series BLUE BLOODS, Tom Selleck stars as Frank Reagan, the New York City Police Commissioner, and patriarch of the Reagan clan, a multigenerational family of cops. In each week’s episode, four generations of the family are shown gathering on Sunday for a family meal. In a recent episode, Commissioner Reagan told the family he wanted to do something different. He told the family that he wanted to go around the table and give everyone gathered the opportunity to describe a  failure that they had during the previous week. He told them that it is through making mistakes that they grow and improve.

I thought this idea was a gem! Perhaps we can all take this to heart and when we gather as a family for Sunday dinner or when we gather with a small group of our Christian friends we can all address this topic: “Describe one failure that you had during the week and discuss what you learned from it.

There is no place for the insincere apology “My bad” in the vocabulary of a Christian. Instead, let’s use the words of the repentant tax collector: “Lord have mercy on me a sinner.”

Most Heavenly Father, please send forth your Holy Spirit to give me the courage to admit my sins and mistakes. Guide me and help me to learn and grow closer to you each time I fall. Amen!

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Brian Pusateri

Brian is a Christian author and speaker. Brian, a lifelong Catholic, felt his life was forever changed when God spoke to his heart while attending an eight day silent Christian retreat in November of 2011. Soon after that retreat Brian founded 4th Day Letters and Broken Door Ministries. With the God inspired message of mercy and unconditional love that was placed on his heart during that retreat, Brian has been impacting others all over the country and around the world with his weekly letters, his talks, and his all day Christian retreats. In June of 2014, Brian’s life was again impacted in a very dramatic way when his eyesight suddenly became permanently impaired. The initial diagnosis was Multiple Scleroses (MS) but in December of 2019 the diagnosis was corrected to MOG antibody disease, a rare neurological disease. This health challenge has only served to draw Brian closer to God and bolster the importance of this timely yet ageless message.

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