Apologize

Apologize

If you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother or sister has something against you, leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to them; then come and offer your gift.

“I’M SORRY,” my husband stated with a pained look on his face, arms stretched out as if he had nothing to hide. “I don’t have any excuse to give. I was wrong, and I’m sorry.” He finished as tears welled in my eyes and then slid down my cheeks. Even though his actions pained my heart, I knew that he meant his apology.

As he went on to explain what had happened, he never once made excuses or downplayed his behavior. He owned what had transpired and promised that his actions would change to show that he was truly sorry. I was grateful for his apology, and together we worked to fix what had transpired between us.

My husband and I have not always been so quick to apologize. For years, I would get mad and give Kyle the silent treatment until my anger would dissipate. Often apologies would never be mentioned, and we’d just move on. Kyle in turn would sometimes keep things from me, not wanting to hurt me or cause strife between us.

But over the years, we’ve both learned how important being honest, apologizing, and owning our words or actions are to the long-term health of our relationship. It hasn’t always been easy, but we are both now quick to apologize to one another, without excuses, attempting as quickly as possible to right our relationship. Even though it’s hard, we know it’s the best way to keep our marriage strong.

Scripture speaks often of forgiveness and forgiving those who’ve hurt us, but what of apologizing when we’ve done something wrong? We are told that if someone has an offense against us, we should first go and be reconciled to the other person before coming to God. This implies that our relationship with God is affected by our relationship with one another. If we aren’t willing to apologize when we need to and live at peace with others, our relationships with God will be affected as well. Let’s be people who are quick to forgive and quick to apologize.

Lord, give us the courage to apologize when we need to. Amen.

-Kendra

One Good Word: Apologize to someone that you have hurt or offended.