How Do You Apologize? (James A.E. MacLellan)

The current news out of Toronto involving Mayor Rob Ford raises the question, "How do you apologize?"  Back in 2006, Marvin Olasky, made some interesting statements about this.  For instance he wrote:

• "Requests for human forgiveness should be directed straightforwardly to the individuals sinned against.
• "Those who are caught should not plea bargain." (Some of what I said was true.)
• "It's not adequate to say, when criticized, I was just kidding."
• "It's also too bad when people to preserve their political or job status have to pretend they didn't mean what they meant."
• "Nor do two wrongs make a right."

The origin of the word 'apology' tended to lean toward self-justification, but today's cultural expectation lands more in the category of "saying your sorry." Marvin Olasky poignantly and brilliantly summarizes the best response to wrongdoing by a simple statement "to the offended human party and to God as well. 'I was wrong. Please forgive me.'"

My mother's sage wisdom taught me that when you say you are sorry, you are intent on not repeating it. Does this go without saying? She got that, I believe, from 2 Corinthians 7:10 [1]. In that passage, Paul, commended the Corinthians for their apologetic behaviour.  This is what he wrote:

“Just see what this godly sorrow produced in you! Such earnestness, such concern to clear yourselves, such indignation, such alarm, such longing to see me, such zeal, and such a readiness to punish wrong. You showed that you have done everything necessary to make things right.” (2 Corinthians 7:11, NLT) 

Did you see that?  "Do everything necessary to make things right."  That's a great standard for an apology.


  


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1. For godly grief produces a repentance that leads to salvation without regret, whereas worldly grief produces death.