If you look back far enough, you can see that we’ve all been scoundrels a few times in our lives. We’ve fibbed to cover up something we weren’t proud we did or downright lied when confronted but were afraid of the consequences. We’ve omitted information that could evoke a negative response or gotten too angry when someone confronted us on our less-than-sterling (aka selfish) behavior. We’ve allowed ourselves to be tempted by food, drink, or whatever other personal vice we have and emerged feeling guilty for succumbing to that temptation. We’ve averted our eyes to bad behavior in others, such as blatant racism or prejudice because we didn’t want to get involved. We’ve participated in minimizing the consequences of our collective bad behavior by not demanding more from ourselves and our leaders regarding societal issues such as inadequate housing, discrimination, and climate change. We’ve even failed to trust God (or whatever Higher Power we believe in ) by trying to manage our lives alone instead of humbly turning our lives and wills over to a power greater than ourselves.

The truth is that we fail continually in one or another area of our lives simply because we are imperfect beings. Even on a day when we feel exceedingly proud that we’re batting 1000, it could be argued that we have forgotten the reality of our flawed nature and are now exhibiting the sin of pride. We may also have forgotten how some aspect of our past behavior (however much we justify our actions) may inadvertently still cause pain in another person.

So, how do we cope with this “scoundrel” part of ourselves in a healthy way?

Given that we are imperfect, then it would follow we would routinely behave imperfectly. Since that is the case, then rather than beat ourselves up over our misdeeds, perhaps instead we could admit to ourselves and our Higher Power what we’ve done wrong (or to the affected person if that’s appropriate), ask for forgiveness for our actions, and then accept the forgiveness offered. However, not every negatively affected person will forgive us (or understand why we did what we did), so we can’t make their reaction our criterion for forgiveness. Instead, we have to appeal to God’s mercy and grace to recognize that a humble heart is the only requirement for divine forgiveness.

Please, Lord, forgive me for my selfishness, short-sightedness, fear, lack of proper discernment, or whatever else motivated my unacceptable behavior. Please know I come to you with true regret and humility as I ask for forgiveness, not because I deserve it but solely through your mercy. Open up my heart to receive Your grace, dear Lord, so that I can learn from my mistakes and do better in my life.

Looking back far enough, we can see we’ve all been scoundrels. May we forgive ourselves for our misdeeds, surrender to our Higher Power, and trust that whatever we’ve done or left undone is subject to God’s grace.

Thank you, Lord. Your mercy is great, and your hope everlasting. Amen.