Truth and Repentance – Psalm 51:7

One of the opening statements in the Jewish daily liturgy is more of an admonition than a prayer. It reads as follows: “A person should always be reverential of heaven in private and in public, acknowledging the truth and speaking the truth in his heart.”

The activity of “acknowledging the truth” is foundational to our journey in life. Acknowledging the truth is putting aside falsehood and aligning ourselves with the truth. The falsehood we need to put aside may be an act that we committed or it can be a belief that we have accepted. We may be very attached to that falsehood. Our honor, our money, our stability in life may be bound up with that falsehood. But acknowledging the truth means breaking clean from what is wrong and realigning ourselves with what is true.

Acknowledging truth means being able to apologize and…