Contrasting Mistakes: Choosing Integrity in a World Full of Excuses

This past Sunday, the Comedian and I went to church, as we try to do as often as possible. Our usual pastor was on vacation, so another stepped in—and I’ve grown fond of this particular one because he always makes his sermons relatable.

He opened by talking about old-school TVs with the dials. Remember those? You had to stand up to change the channel—or, in my case, my parents made me do it. He mentioned the dial labeled “contrast,” and asked something that stuck with me: How do we stand out? How do we show contrast as Christians, as people?

As the sermon went on, I found myself leaning in, curious about where he was going. Then he touched on something that lit a spark in me: moral responsibility.

It reminded me of something I wrote in my earlier post Is Divorce an Option?—how society has gotten comfortable with failure, brushing it off like it’s no big deal. “We’re only human,” we say. Mistakes are just part of life, and somehow, we’ve begun to expect them… even excuse them. People cheat, so it’s normalized. People steal, so we shrug it off. But where’s the accountability?

I do believe mistakes are part of life, but I also believe what defines a better person is how they respond to those mistakes. I have deep respect for those who don’t hide behind excuses—who simply say, “I messed up. I’m sorry.” That’s integrity. And to me, integrity is one of the most honorable traits anyone can have.

Over the years, I’ve chosen to live transparently. Lying never got me far—it just made things messier. So now I try to live by the simple truth. It’s not always easy, but it’s worth it.

The pastor mentioned something else that struck a nerve: how people who live “pure” or hold themselves to a higher standard are often seen as fake or even judged more harshly. Isn’t that wild? We strive to become better, more honest, more compassionate people—and yet, when someone really walks that talk, they’re often criticized instead of celebrated.

The world’s a little upside down that way. But we still have a choice. Every day.

Do we want to be transparent and accountable? Or do we want to keep hiding behind our mistakes?

The contrast is clear—what side do you want to stand on?