Do you ever get sick of hearing someone say, “I’m sorry?”
I’m not talking about the acute, soul searching anguish and grief someone feels over their wrong doings. I’m talking about those half-hearted expressions of sorrow people are so quick to offer that are little more than a post-it-note slapped over the words and deeds that have hurt other people. “Sorryies” that are just code for:
- Sorry I look bad.
- Sorry I got caught.
- Sorry I have to feel bad about doing what I did.
God’s not so crazy about this kind of behavior either. In His Word – 2 Corinthians 7:10-11 – He calls it “wordly grief” and nails it for exactly what it is: sorrow that is either completely bogus or short lived. He also sees it as something we need to take seriously saying it leads to “death;” Death to our relationships with each other and, over time, death to our relationship with Him which ultimately leads to eternal death rather than eternal life.
Unfortunately, I have a short fuse when it comes to insincerity and a tendency to be like George in the sitcom Seinfeld who told his friend, Jerry, “You can stuff your “sorries” in a sack, mister!” Thankfully God is not like that. He has a long fuse, is long-tempered, patient, faithful and just to forgive our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness when we’re heartily sorry for having tried to get away with slapping post-it notes of insincere excuses and shallow words of sorrow over our sins.
Like everything else in this Christian life, repentance—which by the way has to come before forgiveness—is a process, not a one-time deal and allows God to change the way I see my sin to the way He does.
Let’s put “worldly” sorries aside and get real with each other and God. Let’s repent—turn around—and allow God to change the way we see our sins to way He does.
