Saying “I’m sorry”

“I’m sorry, so sorry.” Those are the opening words of an old Brenda Lee song. (Some of you might be old enough to remember hearing it, but you don’t have to admit it.)

“I am sorry”. Those three little words carry a lot of weight and can make a big difference in all of our relationships. None of us are perfect. We all make mistakes, but are we quick to take the responsibility and apologize for the unfavorable outcomes? Is our society as a whole dealing more and more with self pride? “I am doing the best that I can and what I feel is right, so what do I have to be sorry for?” “If you were offended by my actions, isn’t that your problem?”

Recently the bank mailed me a letter stating that a financial account had been deducted $300 because there was a deposit error. I met the next day with a bank representative who said that the error had been cleared and the account would be credited. A mailed letter a few days later instructed me to update the account with the credited amount. I know we are all human, but there was no apology in the letter for the bank error or regret for the time I had to spend getting the correction.

A simple -- “We are sorry for our error and any inconvenience we may have caused you.” -- would have been nice.

I once heard someone say that saying, “I’m sorry” shows weakness. I believe the opposite is true; it shows we have the courage to take responsibility for our mistakes.

As a pastor, if I receive a compliment about our church music team, I fully acknowledge them and give glory to God. Should there be any kind of a glitch at church, no matter what, I take responsibility and am quick to apologize. I believe any great dad, mom, business, soccer coach, leader, boss, etc, direct compliments to “the team” and is quick to take responsibility for mishaps. That’s part of being a leader. Too many leaders are willing to take all the credit for success, but blame “the team” for any failures or mistakes.

Are you sometimes too proud to say, “I’m sorry”? Is there someone you know you owe an apology to? How about God? His grace covers us as we remain in Him and are willing to seek His forgiveness for our shortcomings.

A quick temper, something we shouldn’t have said, a selfish action – we’re all human and we all make mistakes. Can we humble ourselves and say, “I am sorry”? It will do wonders for our personal relationships. It will also do wonders when we humble ourselves before Christ and let His mercy and love overflow us. It is life changing.

Reverend Mark Ernst is the Lead Pastor of Palm Canyon Assembly which meets at Arbor Rose, 6033 E. Arbor Ave. Mesa www.palmcanyonasssembly.org