It's too late to apologize...lies. it's never too late.
Let me first begin with a tiny little vent-sesh.
Our school has a goose problem. A BIG ONE. It's bad enough that the geese squawk loudly every morning waking the poor souls that just want to sleep in an extra 10 minutes. It's bad enough that they congregate at the sidewalks and don't give a rip as to whether or not they are in anyone's way.
But the ABSOLUTE WORST thing about them is that they defecate. EVERYWHERE. Well mostly just the sidewalks. But it is so unbelievably obnoxious because you literally can't take a step without trying to dodge a pile. You heard correctly. You know how bird poop is usually all white and liquidy? Well goose poop is more like a doggie doodoo. Cylindrical. Anyways, onto the main purpose of this blog.
Humility. It's something that the Lord has been teaching me a lot about lately because, contrary to popular belief, I am not perfect! Let me paint a picture for you.
I am walking home from the library after a long study sesh. Across the way I see my friend Kate is talking to a gentleman I recognize from my dorm. I haven't seen Kate in ages so I yell "Kate" to try to get her attention. The gentleman, who at this point is only a few yards away from me asks me if I am talking to him. Now, it had been a long night and my brain wasn't exactly firing on all cylinders, not that I am trying to make an excuse for the following words that came out of my mouth. What I meant to ask was "Does your name sound like Kate? Is that why you thought I was talking to you?" Which really wasn't even relevant, I could have just told him "No, I was talking to Kate over there". Here is what came out of my mouth:
"Is your name Kate? Then, no I was talking to her."
Now as sassy as that sounds, I can promise that I didn't mean for it to come across that way. But it did and immediately afterwards, my heart sank. I knew that the next time I saw him I needed to apologize.
So today, at 6:30 am, at the gym, my opportunity arose. I was doing lunges and being serenaded by Luke Bryan when, guess who should enter the room? None but the gentleman who I had insulted (accidentally) the other night. And here is where my internal battle began.
Holy Spirit: Hey, who is that?
Me: The guy who I was rude too the other night.
HS: That thing we talked about doing? You should do it.
Me: What thing? Oh the apologizing thing. Yeah, I know I should...but I also don't think it's really necessary.
HS: Are you saying that obedience to me isn't necessary?
Me: No of course not! But he probably doesn't even remember! I see him walking around campus all the time, smiling and stuff. He just seems like such a jovial guy, the type that isn't phased by anything. I am SURE he doesn't even remember.
HS: Would you remember if some replied to you the way you did to him?
Me: ........
HS: The choice is really up to you, but this is an opportunity for you to humble yourself. He may receive it well, and he may not. But that doesn't matter. What matters is whether or not YOU are going to choose to be obedient.
So I went over awkwardly and apologized. He was very gracious and accepted my apology. But he did tell me that it had hurt his feelings a little bit. Can you imagine if I had just assumed that it hadn't? It could have forever tarnished his view of me.
Humility. Thinking of ourselves less. The truth is, apologizing can be really hard. But when you think about the restoration that occurs when those 3 words are uttered, it is usually worth it. So let me encourage you, for the sake of your relationships, whether they are old or new, just apologize. Friends. Spouses. Co-workers. Whatever. Let's show the world a glimpse of the the humility of our saviour and humble ourselves before others and submit to the Lord.
Our school has a goose problem. A BIG ONE. It's bad enough that the geese squawk loudly every morning waking the poor souls that just want to sleep in an extra 10 minutes. It's bad enough that they congregate at the sidewalks and don't give a rip as to whether or not they are in anyone's way.
But the ABSOLUTE WORST thing about them is that they defecate. EVERYWHERE. Well mostly just the sidewalks. But it is so unbelievably obnoxious because you literally can't take a step without trying to dodge a pile. You heard correctly. You know how bird poop is usually all white and liquidy? Well goose poop is more like a doggie doodoo. Cylindrical. Anyways, onto the main purpose of this blog.
Humility. It's something that the Lord has been teaching me a lot about lately because, contrary to popular belief, I am not perfect! Let me paint a picture for you.
I am walking home from the library after a long study sesh. Across the way I see my friend Kate is talking to a gentleman I recognize from my dorm. I haven't seen Kate in ages so I yell "Kate" to try to get her attention. The gentleman, who at this point is only a few yards away from me asks me if I am talking to him. Now, it had been a long night and my brain wasn't exactly firing on all cylinders, not that I am trying to make an excuse for the following words that came out of my mouth. What I meant to ask was "Does your name sound like Kate? Is that why you thought I was talking to you?" Which really wasn't even relevant, I could have just told him "No, I was talking to Kate over there". Here is what came out of my mouth:
"Is your name Kate? Then, no I was talking to her."
Now as sassy as that sounds, I can promise that I didn't mean for it to come across that way. But it did and immediately afterwards, my heart sank. I knew that the next time I saw him I needed to apologize.
So today, at 6:30 am, at the gym, my opportunity arose. I was doing lunges and being serenaded by Luke Bryan when, guess who should enter the room? None but the gentleman who I had insulted (accidentally) the other night. And here is where my internal battle began.
Holy Spirit: Hey, who is that?
Me: The guy who I was rude too the other night.
HS: That thing we talked about doing? You should do it.
Me: What thing? Oh the apologizing thing. Yeah, I know I should...but I also don't think it's really necessary.
HS: Are you saying that obedience to me isn't necessary?
Me: No of course not! But he probably doesn't even remember! I see him walking around campus all the time, smiling and stuff. He just seems like such a jovial guy, the type that isn't phased by anything. I am SURE he doesn't even remember.
HS: Would you remember if some replied to you the way you did to him?
Me: ........
HS: The choice is really up to you, but this is an opportunity for you to humble yourself. He may receive it well, and he may not. But that doesn't matter. What matters is whether or not YOU are going to choose to be obedient.
So I went over awkwardly and apologized. He was very gracious and accepted my apology. But he did tell me that it had hurt his feelings a little bit. Can you imagine if I had just assumed that it hadn't? It could have forever tarnished his view of me.
Humility. Thinking of ourselves less. The truth is, apologizing can be really hard. But when you think about the restoration that occurs when those 3 words are uttered, it is usually worth it. So let me encourage you, for the sake of your relationships, whether they are old or new, just apologize. Friends. Spouses. Co-workers. Whatever. Let's show the world a glimpse of the the humility of our saviour and humble ourselves before others and submit to the Lord.
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