Nov 01
8:35 AM
Apologizing is Hard
Nov 01
8:35 AM
Nov 01
8:35 AM
Monday, November 1, 2021
Romans 12:3
Today, I want to talk to you about something that I have personally struggled with for many years. I know many other people have as well. It's the idea of apologizing. We've all done something that we knew was wrong, and then you have to muster up that courage and swallow your pride to go apologize. Or, maybe sometimes we don't apologize when we should. Maybe you're even in a moment where you know you were right, but the way that whole interaction played out just wasn't up to par. So now you find yourself in a position where you know you probably should apologize, but maybe you don't want to. Here's the fact: apologizing is hard, regardless how you do it. This is because it all comes to ourselves, it all comes down to our pride and how we're going to work through that.
There's a scripture passage that I want to look at just to give you some encouragement, because maybe you're struggling with this today, maybe there's something going on in your life, where you really need to deal with this. And I know this is a daily thing that I have to struggle with and work through, especially as a parent and as a husband. But in Romans 12, verse three, Paul writes, "For by the grace given to me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought to, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the faith God has distributed to each of you." Here's what's interesting, he says the word "think" twice. In the English language, we have one definition of that, but in the original text, it means something completely different. He says, "Do not think of yourself more highly than you should." That first word "think" literally means don't be overly proud. Don't have a big ego, don't go in like you rule the universe. He says, don't think of yourself more highly than you should or more highly than you ought. Don't think of yourself in a highly proud manner. That's the first thing.
But then he says the word think again. He says, "but rather think of yourself with sober judgment." Okay, but the word "think" here means be understanding. Have a little compassion. Don't think too highly of yourself. Don't be too proud. But instead, go into the situation with understanding. Put yourself in the other person's shoes, whether they're right or wrong. It's all in how we carry ourselves and approach one another. He says in the last part of that, "but think of yourself with sober judgment." What does that mean? It means to be of sound mind, it means to be sensible. So what Paul is saying here is that in those moments where we know an apology is going to be needed, maybe for what we said, or maybe it's simply for how we said it, he says don't be overly proud. Don't go into this thing thinking you rule the universe, but think of it and approach it in a way of understanding where that person is coming from. And be sensible, be somebody who can really take to heart what is happening in the situation.
I know this is hard, but but some of us are parents, we can implement this with our spouses, with other family, maybe people that we work with. The fact is, is apologizing is hard. But he says, "Do this in accordance with the faith that God has distributed to each of you." In other words, do this with the faith that God has given you. It is by grace that we have been saved, but it's also by grace that God has given us a sensible spirit. So if you're feeling heated, you feel like you have a conflict with somebody, or if you think "maybe I said something that really turned somebody the wrong way," I want to encourage you, and I want to challenge you today. Go apologize to that person. I know how hard it is. Oftentimes with my boys something comes up, or they say something, or I come in and I'm like, "Yes, I got this, right." And I realized I just broke them down in the process. I didn't mean to do that. So I want to just challenge you today. Maybe there's that person that you need to call or text and start that conversation to apologize. Don't be too proud. Be understanding, be sensible. Father, I want to pray for everyone right now who's dealing with this and we know how difficult it can be to apologize because it all comes down to our pride. I pray that we'd be able to swallow that and to make right with whoever we need to, whether it's our children, or our spouse, or family members, friends, co-workers, whoever that may be. Give us the courage to do so, so that we can follow what your Word says, and that we would distribute the faith that has been distributed to us. We thank you in Jesus' name, amen.