“My wife is a wonderful woman, but she is never wrong. It’s always
someone else’s fault.”
One of the marks of maturity, especially Christian maturity,
is admitting when you’re wrong, confessing when you’ve sinned, apologizing when
you’ve hurt someone. And we all know people who never really apologize. Oh,
they probably would claim they apologize.
But their “confessions” are wrapped up in self-righteousness and pride.
Here are some examples of pseudo-apologies:
- I’m sorry if I offended you. Translation: I’m not really conceding I did anything wrong. But since you seem to be upset, I’ll say some words to shut you up.
- I’m sorry you feel offended, but I didn’t mean it. Translation: You’re overly sensitive. I did nothing wrong. What I’m sorry about is your whining.
- I’m sorry, but you know I’ve been under a lot of pressure lately. Translation: I’m not responsible. Actually it’s really your fault for getting in my way when I’m so pressured.
- I’m sorry, but let me list all the ways you’ve messed up lately, and all the grievances I have against you. Translation: I’m a saint compared to you. You have no business bringing anything up to me when you're such a failure.
So anyway, I was reading J. Oswald
Sanders’ The Incomparable Christ, and
here’s what he said about Jesus: “No word He spoke needed to be modified or withdrawn,
because He never spoke inadvisedly or fell into the evil of exaggeration….He
never apologized for word or action. And yet, is it not true that the ability
to apologize is one of the elements of true greatness? It is the small-souled man
who will not stoop to apologize. But Christ performed no action, spoke no word
that required apology.”
People who are “never wrong” are
insufferable, prideful, and hurtful. But Jesus never came across as a haughty
jerk. He was always kind, humble, and yet holy and perfect. So He’s the only
one who never needs to apologize. The rest of us need to get better at
it, and the closer we get to Him, the more we will want to.
