Kelly Clarkson's Apology

Using the scripture reference James 3:2-13, Betty Miller of bible.com penned the following:

“These words from James tell us that we can bless or curse with our tongues and that the root of our mouth problems is a heart problem. What is in our heart, will come out of our mouths. The only way we are going to overcome our heart problems is to give our heart to Jesus and allow Him to cleanse it, then we will bless others and use our mouths to speak wisdom and kind things. We have all said things that we wish we had not spoken. When this happens, the only way to make things right is to apologize and admit that what we said was wrong. Even though this is hard, we will have more respect, than if we refuse to admit we were wrong and allow pride to rule us.”

If these words ring true, then why on my regular perusal of music message boards and blogs am I reading many of the posters and writers no longer have respect for Kelly Clarkson since she or her people made the statement on her websites? In today’s society where "right is wrong and wrong is glorified" I shouldn’t be surprised that a lot of people see her apology as a sign of weakness and “giving in” instead of strength.

After Kelly spoke from her mouth what was in her heart, whether right or wrong, about the predicament she found herself in— what was the next step? She received scrutiny and praises for her stand against the music industry, and then the same for her apology. Whatever she did was going to equal more hot water for her. She clearly put herself in a situation hard to win. Once again she chose to take the high road. Whether she truly wished she had not said the things she said about the record executives will probably remain a mystery since we cannot see her true heart—only God can, and He is the only one she has to answer to.

Betty continues with a commentary on Proverbs 21:24 as follows:

“Verse 24 in our study today, tells us that a scoffer, who is proud and haughty, will also be an angry and over-bearing person. No one likes a person who is over-bearing and pushy. We must ask God to change us if we tend to have a demeaning and controlling attitude toward others. The Bible tells us that the Lord resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble. May we all humble ourselves before God.”

Does this verse describe Kelly or the record executives? What people think of her apology will remain debatable, until the next scandal comes along for them to debate and write about. My prayer is that she made things right in her heart with the one that really matters.

I always join Betty in her prayer for the day:

“Dear Heavenly Father, I am thankful for Your grace and mercy toward me. I need help in the area of guarding my lips. Lord, give me the grace to keep my mouth shut when I should not speak, and give me the holy boldness to speak up when I need to do so, without fearing what others will think about me. May I be a person who blesses others and not one who curses others with a negative confession about them. Cleanse my heart, oh Lord, so that I will not even want to speak evil or bad things. I humble myself before You, Lord, and ask for a meek and lowly spirit like Jesus, our Saviour, has. In His name I pray. Amen.”