Do I have to say sorry?
So they sent this message to Joseph: “Before your father died, he instructed us to say to you: ‘Please forgive your brothers for the great wrong they did to you—for their sin in treating you so cruelly.’ So we, the servants of the God of your father, beg you to forgive our sin.” When Joseph received the message, he broke down and wept.
Genesis 50:16-17, NLT
When we are hurt, often what we really want is just an apology. We want someone to admit the wrong they did and be sorry for it. Joseph received this for the treatment he endured from his brothers. Few of us get this.
Yet, knowing that we have this deep need to hear “I’m sorry” can turn us into the kind of people who say we’re sorry. Joseph shows us the deep emotional healing that can take place when we offer an apology. He wept. Decades of hurt were unleashed.
Forgiveness carries power for healing, both for the one who was hurt and the one who did the hurting.
ACT
Carefully consider who you need to apologize to. Start small if you need to.
pray
God, it can be hard to never receive the apology we want. But we can be people who apologize. Help me know who I may have wronged, and then say a genuine, “I am so sorry.”