One of the distinctives of Christianity is the call to behave otherworldly.

Revenge is a human instinct and something most people would say is a natural right. Christ tells Christians to turn the other cheek and let God take care of vengeance for them. Humanity has no natural impulse to love their neighbor if their neighbor is from a different tribe. Christ says to love your neighbor with no exception—yes, love even that neighbor. The natural order does not call for sacrificial love. Christ does. //

A Christian leader should be able to say, “I screwed up.”

We do not live in Christian times.

We live in pagan times where we behave like Romans. Lawsuits are all the rage. Doubling down on behaviors and attacking the other side, no matter the merit of their argument, is what we do. Our politicians in a post-Christian America, even many of the Christian ones, cannot admit a mistake. It is a sign of worldly weakness. It is likewise a sign of worldly weakness when too many Christians are willing to go along for the ride with the lie because it is easier than accepting that the leader made a mistake.

Christian theology is about mercy and grace. The early Church Fathers embraced the apology, and Christians have long been urged to behave contrary to the spirit of the age—show grace and apologize when you mess up. Ask for forgiveness. Be quick to forgive. And move on.

The pagans will always try to hold the mistake over your head. The pagans will always try to shame you with past sins. The pagans will never show grace. And the pagan does not apologize because paganism sees confession as weakness.

However, Christianity shows that grace and confession make us stronger, and a simple apology from the powerful to the people goes a long way to restoring trust when trust in institutions is needed. Instead, our politicians gaslight us, hoping the faithful repeat their spin. We’ve gone from demands for and respect of others’ pronouns, to demands for a restatement of and acceptance of each other’s lies.

If only we had in leadership on display today the humility to admit a mistake. It is harder to find in politics and the church as the West leaves Christianity behind, not for something new, but for the things that existed before Christ. The old gods are creeping back in from the shadows. And yes, just like turning your cheek, saying “sorry” helps keep them at bay.