On New Year’s Eve Dana White was in a public space ringing in the new year. A video surfaced of an argument between Dana and his wife. It got heated and she slapped him. He slapped her back and then they were separated by others in their party. As you might expect to video went viral and caused a big uproar. Everyone seems to have an opinion about it.
One of the things that I thought was notable out of this unfortunate and regrettable incident is how Dana has responded to it. He has made no excuse and took ownership of his actions. He did not blame his wife, he did not blame the alcohol, he did not blame anything but himself for his actions. He also called on his supporters to stop defending him because he does not believe there is any defense for what he has done.
What if Christians were to follow Dana’s example? What if we dropped the excuses and justifications? What if our gatherings were marked by a love and acceptance that made room for this type of confession of sin? What if our faith communities had a depth of understanding and experience of the gospel of Jesus Christ that there was a freedom for people to be real?
Repentance is the call of every Christ follower, in fact, it is impossible to become a Christian without it. The gospel that Jesus proclaimed was, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel” (Mk. 1:15). Many within the church today have not actually repented. They may have confessed their sin and said they are sorry about it, but while those things are important they are not repentance.
The Greek word that is translated as repent is Metanoia and it means, ‘to change your mind’. The change in mind that needs to take place is an alignment with the truth of who God is and what he has said. Biblical repentance is the act of changing your mind about what is good and true. This new thinking leads to Christlike behavior.
Metanoia is a process that involves a transformation of thinking, feeling, and doing that flows from our inner most being where the Spirit of God dwells within us. Repentance leads to an increase and acceleration of our faith in Jesus. You cannot grow in your faith apart from a lifestyle of repentance.
Dana White owned his sin and stated that it will never happen again. As far as I know he is not a follower of Jesus Christ, but there is something worth noting and imitating in the aftermath of his sorrowful actions on New Year’s eve. He has been humble, contrite, and brutally honest about his actions. Time will tell if he has actually changed his mind to the point of metanoia.
WHAT DO YOU THINK? I would love to hear your thoughts regarding repentance.