How To Right The Wrongs In Your Life: A Biblical Perspective

One of the biggest obstacles to people becoming a Christian is that many believe that to become a Christian, they must stop doing any number of bad things and start doing good things first. Sadly, their idea of doing good or bad needs Biblically adjusted. Sadder yet, is the fact that they know that changing our lives is not easy, which discourages them from even considering becoming a Christian. For this reason a Biblical perspective of how to right the wrongs in your life needs to be investigated.

Righting the wrongs in your life is hard

With all the pressures of life, most people are just trying to hang on the best they can, much less make much progress in righting the wrongs in their life. Righting the wrongs in our life can involve coming in contact with people we really have no desire to see again. This may be because we were the person who did wrong to someone else or we may be the person that someone else wronged. Either way, we are presented with the unpleasant prospect of proverbially tearing the scab off something we experienced in the past that has caused pain.

Seeking to right wrongs is difficult, but God wants us to do it.

Should we right the wrongs in our life?

Many people may say, “What’s happened in the past is done. There is no need to bring it back up again.” However, most agree that if they had it to do over again, they wish things were different. This is because deep down we want right things to be done and injustices to be corrected.

The Bible says that we should not withhold good from those to whom it is due when it is in our power to do it as follows:

Withhold not good from them to whom it is due, when it is in the power of thine hand to do it. Say not unto thy neighbour, Go, and come again, and to morrow I will give; when thou hast it by thee. Devise not evil against thy neighbour, seeing he dwelleth securely by thee. Strive not with a man without cause, if he have done thee no harm. Envy thou not the oppressor, and choose none of his ways. For the froward is abomination to the LORD: but his secret is with the righteous. The curse of the LORD is in the house of the wicked: but he blesseth the habitation of the just. Surely he scorneth the scorners: but he giveth grace unto the lowly. The wise shall inherit glory: but shame shall be the promotion of fools. (Proverbs 3:27-35)

Although we usually attribute doing the right thing to works of charity, this passage also applies to our interactions with one another (Proverbs 3:29-35). If we have the power to correct the wrongs or injustices of the past we should do it.

How do we right the wrongs in our life?

Whether we were the one doing the wrong or we were wronged by someone else, there are seven steps or principles to healing. For the purposes of this article we will focus on righting the wrongs we have caused. We see the principles in Jeremiah 3:12-18 as follows:

1. Make contact with those you wronged

Go and proclaim these words toward the north, and say, Return, thou backsliding Israel, saith the LORD; (Jeremiah 3:12a)

2. Go with an attitude of seeking mercy

I will not cause mine anger to fall upon you: for I am merciful, saith the LORD, and I will not keep anger for ever. (Jeremiah 3:12b)

3. Confess your sin in detail with humility

Only acknowledge thine iniquity, that thou hast transgressed against the LORD thy God, and hast scattered thy ways to the strangers under every green tree, and ye have not obeyed my voice, saith the LORD. (Jeremiah 3:13)

4. Seek the forgiveness of God and those you wronged

Turn, O backsliding children, saith the LORD; for I am married unto you: and I will take you one of a city, and two of a family, and I will bring you to Zion: (Jeremiah 3:14)

5. Seek Biblical counsel if needed

And I will give you pastors according to mine heart, which shall feed you with knowledge and understanding. (Jeremiah 3:15)

6. Reestablish your testimony of doing the right thing

And it shall come to pass, when ye be multiplied and increased in the land, in those days, saith the LORD, they shall say no more, The ark of the covenant of the LORD: neither shall it come to mind: neither shall they remember it; neither shall they visit it; neither shall that be done any more. (Jeremiah 3:16)

7. Use your experience to help others

At that time they shall call Jerusalem the throne of the LORD; and all the nations shall be gathered unto it, to the name of the LORD, to Jerusalem: neither shall they walk any more after the imagination of their evil heart. In those days the house of Judah shall walk with the house of Israel, and they shall come together out of the land of the north to the land that I have given for an inheritance unto your fathers. (Jeremiah 3:17-18)

Although this passage of Scripture was addressed to Israel and Judah not being faithful to God and God forgiving them, the pattern is the same. Even if the other party we may have wronged wants nothing the do with reconciliation, the goal must be to restore the relationship if able (Matthew 5:21-26; Matthew 10:9-13).

If we are the person who was wronged, we should welcome the contact of those who wronged us that want to make things right. We should strive to have an attitude of being merciful and allow the other person to confess. We should give forgiveness when asked. We should seek Biblical counsel if needed and encourage the other person to reestablish their testimony. Finally, we should use the experience to help others who struggle with the effects of being wronged.

Conclusion

All of us have done something wrong to someone or have had someone do something wrong to us. Seeking to right wrongs is difficult, but God wants us to do it. When we rely on God to be our strength and using His Word, he makes the task of righting the wrongs in your life easier and less of a burden (Matthew 11:28-29).

Something more to read: Bible Verses About Forgiveness

Resources – Scripture quotations are from The Holy Bible, King James Version

Tagged as: Christian tips and advice, right the wrongs