Apology Hotline

Apology Hotline

Bible: Matthew 5:21-26

Reading

If you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother
or sister has something against you … go and be reconciled to them (V.24).

A few years ago someone created an apology hotline that makes it possible to say sorry without actually talking to the person you’ve hurt. People who are weighed down by what they did wrong, but don’t want to say sorry in person, ring the number and leave their apology on an answering machine. Each week around fifty calls are logged as people say sorry about all sorts of things. “The hotline offers people a chance to deal with their guilt and, to some degree, own up to their mistakes,” said the hotline’s owner.

The apology hotline may seem to offer some relief from guilt, but this is not how Jesus told His followers to handle conflicts. In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus told us to go to the people we’ve fallen out with and say sorry (check out Matthew 18 as well). In fact, Jesus taught that broken relationships are so serious that we should deal with them quickly so they don’t disrupt our walk with God (MATTHEW 5:24)

Of course, saying sorry to others doesn’t mean friendships will always go back to normal. We may never be the same with people we’ve fallen out with—and some may not be interested in our apologies. But “If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone” (ROMANS 12:18).

SAYING SORRY IS THE FIRST STEP TOWARDS LIVING AT PEACE WITH OTHERS.

Youth Edition – Our Daily Bread Ministries