You've seen it played out a thousand times....maybe it's been you in the past. It has definitely been me; its being casually sorry and it looks goes like this.
"Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to offend."
"I'm sorry I took your baseball glove without asking and it got wet."
"Soooorrrry."
Kids do this, grown ups do this. We all do this. That two-word phrase that gets us off the hook. It's the password for you're free of the issue, the magic phrase for your no longer in trouble. It's the kind of sorry that changes virtually nothing after it's been spoken. Odd, isn't it? "I'm sorry" should change everything. Impact everything. "I'm sorry" should adjust the course, create a new direction, modify behavior. I'd call that kind of sorry casually sorry. It is easy, convenient, maybe briefly uncomfortable, but not life altering. In my mind it's up there with ask for forgiveness after instead of seeking permission first.
But then there is sorry to repentance. I heard this phrase in a book I read and it landed in my mind like a ton of bricks, staying where it was placed and altering my thinking. Sorry to repentance means so much more that "I'm sorry(and I'm only saying it to move on). Sorry to repentance means I have wounded grievously, I have hurt unnecessarily, I have offended deeply and I am sorry and I want to never do this thing again.
How often are we, you and I, sorry to repentance? How often do we realize that we cut and cause pain with our words? How often have our behaviors communicated messages of selfishness and pride? How often do we casually toss forgiveness about without weighing it completely?
I believe if we understood the cost forgiveness took to achieve, we'd consider our attitudes and actions much more clearly.
No comments:
Post a Comment