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| August 2010 |
| Billie Silvey |
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| Apology |
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| In 1993, the U.S. House and Senate passed and President Bill Clinton signed a Resolution of Apology for using U. S. military forces to overthrow the Kingdom of Hawaii.
It was 100 years after we overthrew Queen Liliuokalani, the last ruler of the kingdom, on January 14, 1893.. It wasn’t the first apology we’d made. We apologized to Native Americans for taking their land and breaking our treaties, to African Americans for slavery and segregation, to Japanese Americans for the internment camps and for confiscating their land and belongings. It isn’t just the government that does it. A whole series of politicians and celebrities have apologized for sexual, moral and political wrongdoings. In our own lives, we all too often find ourselves needing to apologize--to family, friends, business associates. It’s important to apologize for the wrong things that we’ve done. It can allow the other person we've wronged to forgive us and move beyond holding grudges. But sometimes an apology just isn’t enough. As Christians, we use a term that means taking the next step. That term is repentance. Repentance means not just being sorry, but doing something about it. Repentance means a turn—a 180 degree turn—a turn that sends us back in the opposite direction. It means changing our approach to life so we no longer want to do the thing we had to apologize for. It doesn’t mean being perfect—that’s not going to happen. But it does mean changing our orientation to the point where we no longer want to do wrong. Beyond that, it means doing what we can to make things right. As a nation, we’ve treated others as means to our ends. When we speak of our national interest, that’s often what we mean. We’re important, and nobody else matters. When dealing with individuals, there’s a word for that attitude as well. The word is childish or infantile. The childish or infantile person wants his way , no matter who gets hurt in the process. When the nation repents, we also need to do what we can to make things right. That may mean paying reparations, restoring what has been taken, or just learning to get along and treat others with respect. So long as we look down on other people or groups of people, so long as we see them or their possessions or natural resources as fair game to be exploited for our benefit, our apologies are pretty meaningless. If we constantly find ourselves having to say we're sorry--either as individuals or as a nation--maybe we haven't really apologized. Maybe we need to look again at the concept of repentance. When we grow up and learn to respect others sincerely, to feel truly sorry when we’ve wronged them, to really desire to make things right--we'll feel better about ourselves, we'll enjoy greater respect from others, and our relationships will be smoother, more satisfying, and more beneficial for all concerned. Contrary to the line in the movie, love doesn't mean never having to say you're sorry. It means saying you're sorry, sincerely and from the heart, whenever you've done anything to hurt another person, then doing everything in your power to repair the breach between you. |