A public apology

Hey, I’m back from my long journey. The vacation was great, but I will post about that at another time.

I am in the middle of the work day, but I feel so badly about something that I feel I need to address it before going on with other things. I posted on the 5th of July about my 4th of July celebration. (That post has since been edited. The reason should become self-evident in this post. I would have removed it all together but I think the damage has been done.) In that post I talked about the modesty of some of the women in attendance. I said some pretty pointed things. I did not expect those comments to get back to the people in question. (I purposely left out their names.) I said that I didn’t care if it got back to them, but that was foolish. I should have cared.

Well, the word did get passed about those things I said, and most all the young people in the church now know, as well as some parents. (According to the friend that informed me of the situation. I greatly appreciate that friend for saying something, btw.) I feel that I need to publicly apologize, since I publicly criticized and perhaps embarrassed the girls dressed in short shorts. It was a mistake to post those comments about a specific incident, and about specific women even though they were unnamed. It was unwise and unkind.

This post is not meant to excuse what I still consider to be immodest dress, but I do want to say how very sorry I am for the manner in which I said what I did. If I was to say such things, I should have had the courage to go to those women in person, or to their parents, and speak to them of the issue. I have opinions about things, and sometimes feel the need to express them. But it is not always the right time or place for me to speak them. However that is not an excuse. I should have followed the Lord more carefully in that situation, but instead I just did what I wanted to do. I suppose it just comes down to being afraid to speak the truth. I think also I was concerned that it was not my place, nor was it the time, to speak to those girls or their parents about modesty. Regardless, I handled it badly.

I can see now how offensive it was to speak such things in a public arena. If I had said those same things from the pulpit, for instance, I can understand how wrong that would be and how offended my friends would be. I would never consider doing such a thing. To all my Georgia friends, and to anyone else who may have been offended by my comments on the 5th, I am very sorry. I don’t think I can express how sorry I am. And to all those whom I know have been offended I will be going to you and talking about this when I have an opportunity. 

I am certainly not perfect, and I appreciate your understanding and forgiveness when I mess up. God is working on me just as much as he is working on anyone.  

If any one wants to speak to me about this, either about how I have offended you or about modesty in general, please let me know. I will be glad to discuss it further in person.