IF YOU KNOW YOU DO A POOR JOB ON APOLOGIZING here is terrific counsel:

I’m going to start out with a memorable, laughable and very true story my family and I experienced with a tiny, cheeky boy…

My children were much younger, not even teenagers at this time. We were at a church baseball game with my husband playing while our children and I looked on, visiting with the other mothers, boys and girls. Certainly it was a beautiful spring (or summer?!) day! We were all glad to be there, to be together, and to be with God’s family…

At one point during a game break, a certain little boy came very threateningly to one of my own children (it’s so long ago, I can’t even remember which child he charged after.) Being the wonderful mother I am, (really!) I intervened. At least I think I did; it may have been Duane because he, I and all three of our then little children don’t remember all particulars of this incident but we all do remember it with laughter — every time!

Ted was his name: here he comes running up to ??? — one of our own —  Now: we knew this little rascal well. He was tiny and young but Ted was ever so full of motion and intention, some which was not only not good, but downright naughty! I wouldn’t say he was a scoundrel: a popular term today would be strong-willed.

As Christians, my husband and I, like y’all, are commanded to love God and man; this includes little unruly boys. Yes! There are some of those who you absolutely do not want to be around – and then – there are some like Ted, who truly are likable most of the time; but you do have to keep on eye on this type of child when your own children are around.

As my family and I were enjoying the ball game, family time and a lot of the church crowd, Ted came to one of my little ones in this unexpected way. Ted was charging one of my little precious darlings! Knowing he was going to bite him (her?) (I believe that what he said as he came running: “I’m going to bite you!” Pretty sure he did!) If we didn’t do something, he would have! One of us stopped him; even his mother was right there at the time. That’s how much gall this boy had! And she, being a diligent momma bear got to him, properly scolding him! Way to go Momma! And then she wisely continued to train up Ted in the way he should go: “Ted, you say ‘sorry’!”        “SORRY!”   Ted yelled out!

I am telling you it was so hilarious! The way he yelled “SORRY!” with an angry frown and the attack attitude the whole time, we all must have believed he didn’t mean the word of it (for he only said the one) because at the same time, we all laughed mirthfully, truly believing Ted was sorry – sorry that he got stopped!

What a great mom, though, she didn’t give him any excuses and she did her best to train up that boy with respect! Alleluia!

This is such a great memory for my family. Why? Because it includes laughter at a silly little boy’s behavior and adults trying to make him see the light. It includes the valuable lesson: there is a right way and a wrong way to apologize — there is true repentance (meaning you’re sorry) and the false. And: every time I think of this incident I smile and remember this rebellious little child. God can help us learn great and valuable lessons from someone being seriously very naughty and this, in turn, can help us see the error of our ways when we don’t mean what we say!

Selah…

Truly I didn’t trust little Ted with my children at this time in his life (we are all a work in progress.) Some children never bite – some do. It’s good to know that patience is a wonderful virtue! But here is the lesson we all need to learn, whether through it’s through some funny, yet naughty, experience or whether it’s from the more dramatic type of dark action: when you need to say sorry — mean it! For that is exactly the next words from Ted’s little mouth after his mother continued to correct her incompliant son: his determined momma wanted little Ted to behave and be kind as she next told him to ‘mean it’ because he needed to mean his ‘Sorry!’

“MEAN IT!!”  Ted said with the very same aggressive and naughty tone and body language… little Ted didn’t!

Now Ted was just a child, a little boy when his behavior was wrongly aggressive – but how many adults don’t truly ‘mean it.’ when they “Sorry.” or “I’m sorry.” or “I’m very sorry!”? Here’s the crux of this very real challenge presented in a decidedly humorous way: we are to ‘mean it’ when we apologize, when we say we are sorry… when we repent.

One of the worst things a person can do is apologize and then add one single word that definitely takes away the true apology; that word is – BUT.

Selah…

BUT takes the apology away my friends! ‘BUT’ makes room for reasoning, for excusing, justifying a wrong. BUT is that nasty word that makes the purposeful sin of any adult easier for them to cough up an ‘apology’. They truly don’t want to place the blame directly where it belongs — on themselves!

“I am very sorry; but I’m going through some struggles!”

or:

“I am very sorry; but I had hair in my eyes at the time!”

Excuses are lame — and ugly!!

****

Let me now take you to Scripture that sheds so much beauty on the value of truly ‘meaning it’:

2 Corinthians 7:10
Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret, but worldly sorrow brings death.

Selah…

In 2 Samuel 12 the prophet Nathan boldly went to King David for David had sinned greatly. Nathan relayed to this powerful king a message of rebuke directly from the LORD. Nathan first gave a parable as an example to David, allowing David to see the great evil he had done to Bathsheba’s first husband Uriah.

“There were two men in a certain town, one rich and the other poor. The rich man had a very large number of sheep and cattle, 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. “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.”
2 Samuel 12:1-4

This parable the prophet related caused David to burn with anger. David immediately saw the need for the thief’s repentance and told Nathan:

“As surely as the Lord lives, the man who did this must die! He must pay for that lamb four times over, because he did such a thing and had no pity.”
2 Samuel 12:5-6

Not too many people are willing to get in another believer’s faith. Nathan, the prophet, not only got into David’s faith, he got into his face, yes, even pointing a finger at the one who had deeply sinned, the king:

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. 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.  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.  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.’
2 Samuel 12:7-10

Then the chastisement of the LORD came to David. He suffered great family tragedies, including the death of a baby boy and the necessary killing of one older, Absalom, one who became a very evil enemy to his own father.

But (this is a good ‘but’) listen up! Here are some of King David’s greatest words:

Then David said to Nathan, “I have sinned against the Lord.”
2 Samuel 12:13

David was tight with God that when his baby boy was taken to Heaven as a direct result of David’s sin, he knew where the child went and that he would see him again, someday…

Selah…

 

May we all repent earnestly as King David did. And after we do, let us also be certain as David was — he was forgiven.

“I’m sorry!” alone just doesn’t cut it.

Selah…

 

Somewhere in this world, Ted is a man now and he, like all of us who love Jesus Christ, the way, the truth and the life, know what a blessing it is to say, “I am truly sorry!” and truly, deeply mean it!

 

SCRIPTURAL TRUTHS

Proverbs 22:6
Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.

2 Peter 1:2-9
Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord,  as His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us by glory and virtue,  by which have been given to us exceedingly great and precious promises, that through these you may be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust. But also for this very reason, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue, to virtue knowledge,  to knowledge self-control, to self-control perseverance, to perseverance godliness,  to godliness brotherly kindness, and to brotherly kindness love.  For if these things are yours and abound, you will be neither barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. For he who lacks these things is shortsighted, even to blindness, and has forgotten that he was cleansed from his old sins.

Isaiah 5:20-21
Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness, who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter. Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes and clever in their own sight.

Psalm 34:13
keep your tongue from evil and your lips from telling lies

 

TO FIND ANSWERS REGARDING:

Life After Death
My Statement of Faith
Why An Uncountable Number of People Have Vanished-

GO TO THESE POSTINGS:

YOUR FINAL DESTINY / IT’S UP TO YOU…
Posted OCTOBER 8, 2015

WHY I AM EVER GRATEFUL
Posted: AUGUST 30, 2015

WHY AN UNCOUNTABLE NUMBER OF PEOPLE HAVE VANISHED:
Posted: SEPTEMBER 29, 2015