“Never ruin an apology with an excuse.” –Benjamin Franklin
3 words that can change the course of mankind.
How many difficult situations could be diffused with just those 3 words? Unfortunately, we almost always add a 4th word that messes everything up. Like “but,” or “although,” or another word that leads to us making an excuse for what we did wrong.
I know for me it is easy to say those 3 words in my head, but when I try to speak them it just gets all messed up.
If you are married, dating, have kids, or parents, or a good friend, or are breathing, you will need to use those 3 words many times over. Instead of trying to come up with excuses to go along with the words “I am sorry,” try messing with the other person’s head by just saying you’re sorry and nothing else. We need to say these words to each other and also to God almost on a daily basis.
David had to do that. In 2 Samuel 11, we read about how David really messed things up. First, he committed adultery. Then, to cover it up, he did what any normal man would do - he committed murder. Okay, so that is not what any normal man would do, but it is what David did. When he was confronted with his sin by Nathan in 2 Samuel 12, he finally repented:
12 The Lord sent Nathan to David. When he came to him, he said, “There were two men in a certain town, one rich and the other poor.2 The rich man had a very large number of sheep and cattle, 3 but the poor man had nothing except one little ewe lamb he had bought. He raised it, and it grew up with him and his children. It shared his food, drank from his cup and even slept in his arms. It was like a daughter to him.4 “Now a traveler came to the rich man, but the rich man refrained from taking one of his own sheep or cattle to prepare a meal for the traveler who had come to him. Instead, he took the ewe lamb that belonged to the poor man and prepared it for the one who had come to him.”5 David burned with anger against the man and said to Nathan, “As surely as the Lord lives, the man who did this must die! 6 He must pay for that lamb four times over, because he did such a thing and had no pity.”7 Then Nathan said to David, “You are the man! This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: ‘I anointed you king over Israel, and I delivered you from the hand of Saul. 8 I gave your master’s house to you, and your master’s wives into your arms. I gave you all Israel and Judah. And if all this had been too little, I would have given you even more. 9 Why did you despise the word of the Lord by doing what is evil in his eyes? You struck down Uriah the Hittite with the sword and took his wife to be your own. You killed him with the sword of the Ammonites. 10 Now, therefore, the sword will never depart from your house, because you despised me and took the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be your own.’11 “This is what the Lord says: ‘Out of your own household I am going to bring calamity on you. Before your very eyes I will take your wives and give them to one who is close to you, and he will sleep with your wives in broad daylight. 12 You did it in secret, but I will do this thing in broad daylight before all Israel.’”13 Then David said to Nathan, “I have sinned against the Lord.” Nathan replied, “The Lord has taken away your sin. You are not going to die. 14 But because by doing this you have shown utter contempt for the Lord, the son born to you will die.”
In Psalm 51 David shows us what it means to truly say, “I am sorry.”
When we mess up and confess it to God, the Bible tells us that God forgives us (1 John 1:9). However, we may still have to deal with the consequences of our sin. David certainly found this out.
When is the last time you truly said you were sorry to someone you loved? When was the last time you did that with God? Why not start today?
Proverbs 14:9: “Fools make fun of guilt, but the godly acknowledge it and seek reconciliation.”