Does anyone remember that game? It used to be my favorite one as a child. Trying to "race" home, but at the same time trying to make the other players lose. Then when you got the "Sorry!" card, it was really exciting because you were able to place one of your opponents pawns back into its "start" position, while your's gets placed further head. It made it fun to say "sorry". But hey, lets be honest here...who was ACTUALLY sorry?
If your answer was "yes", I bet you never actually won. But that leads to the dilemma: Who actually means sorry? It seems today no one does. It's just the thing to say to hope that a bad situation just gets blown over. The thing to say to hope that the person(s) involved doesn't get further bent out of shape. The thing to say to hope that it makes you look like a better person in the eyes of whom you may have hurt. The thing to say to try to make the severity of the situation seem less. The thing to say to because you just want it over and done with, to make the situation go away.
"Sorry" is not something you say, it's something you do. Notice whenever someone says "sorry" that's it, nothing more. They may go further into saying, "I'll never do it again"....but do they ever really? I mean of course people make mistakes and there is forgiveness, but is the person TRULY sorry if they never actually make the attempt to stop it? Of course not, anyone would answer no to that question.
Sorry is something you say and then you show. It goes beyond words. Instead of catering to the feelings of a person for a brief moment, show them something that will last them a life time. Sorry is a hard sought-after attempt to make a change, to do something different, to realize that you were wrong and admit that; it's progress. C.S. Lewis wrote that, "There is nothing progressive about being pigheaded and refusing to admit a mistake." When you admit that you are wrong, you are getting down to the grit and the grime of the problem. You are humbling yourself, making yourself into a better person, and showing the other that they are worth it.
But instead of harping on others, let's begin to realize that we do these things ourselves. Do unto others as you'd have them do unto you. You want people to look you into your eyes, say sorry, and mean it? Maybe you should also do this yourself. Take a moment to humble yourself right now and realize that if you want someone to do this, or anything, for you.....are you willing to do it yourself?
