#224 GUILT

No one likes to be wrong, no one likes to be guilty; maybe because of how miserable it makes you feel.  I guess the three hardest words in the English language are, "I was wrong." To admit it helps to gain forgiveness from others, and that helps.  President George Washington found it out early in his army career, when he had an argument with a Mr. Payne in Alexandria, Virginia.  Washington was a colonel at that time, stationed in Alexandria with some troops.  The two gentlemen disputed over an election.  During the argument, Washington called Mr. Payne a liar, and Payne responded with a blow that knocked Washington down.

The incident could have become a duel, a common way to end arguments in that era.  But the next day, Washington met Mr. Payne with an out stretched hand saying, "I believe I was wrong yesterday." And then he said, "Here's my hand let us be friends." It helps to admit you're wrong when you're wrong, because admission can bring forgiveness from the other person.  The man who can't forgive himself is in misery.  It’s amazing how many ways you can try to cover up a guilty conscience.  Some fill their life with all kinds of entertainment, always looking for a good time.  But what ends up happening is the good times just add to the guilt.  Others may seek to dull their pains by using drugs or alcohol to try to deaden their conscience and give them some kind of contentment.  But all that is an unsuccessful attempt to cover up the guilt.  It doesn't really release a person from it. It doesn't sooth or satisfy.  After awhile the conscience may be seared over as though with a hot iron, and they’ll no longer feel any pangs of guilt.  They won’t feel anything else either; no love, no real joy, no sense of compassion for people nothing that has any real value. Such a person may develop into an enemy of the people, jumping from one crime to another seeking through some thrill and breaking the law to cover up the guilt of broken law within himself.

There may be another individual though who may try to cover up his guilt by taking a more socially acceptable form.  He becomes so totally immersed in his work, or in some hobby that he finds himself unable to ever sit down and rest awhile.  He works incessantly in order to work off some of the frustration of guilt.

Yet another may occupy himself continuously with the reading of magazines, watching television, or doing something that keeps him constantly on the go.  Guilt drives you to restless activities, because when you're quiet, guilt raises an accusing finger and makes you miserable.  Maybe you know what I'm talking about.