SORRY IS NOT AN APOLOGY!

 

Monday, June 16, 2025

 

SORRY IS NOT AN APOLOGY!

 

Heb 12:16-17

16 Lest there be any fornicator, or profane person, as Esau, who for one morsel of meat sold his birthright.

17 For ye know how that afterward, when he would have inherited the blessing, he was rejected: for he found no place of repentance, though he sought it carefully with tears.

 

          Dissecting words often sheds light on a deeper meaning. Our modern word “sorry” is not an apology at all and is now generally used simply to dismiss an action rather than to rectify a wrong. The origin of the word is Old English and means “pained or distressed.” It is from the noun sore. Heard less frequently is the request for forgiveness.

 

          Esau foolishly sold his birthright for a bowl of beans after returning from a hunting expedition. He later regretted doing so and wanted to reverse the decision but could not. He found no place or “opportunity” for repentance though he sought it carefully and tearfully.

 

          Esau was "a profane person," which means "a common person, one who lives for the world and not God." Our English word literally means "outside the temple," or not belonging to God.

 

          The word “repentance” is the Greek metanoia and means “compunction for guilt which includes reformation along with a reversal of a decision.” We don’t see much repentance today, but we hear “sorry” many times.

 

          God's grace does not fail, but we can fail to depend on God's grace. Esau is a warning to us not to live for lesser things.

 

Rom 8:18

18 For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.

 

Dear Lord, help me to be more than just sorry. Provide for me a place and an opportunity for repentance. AMEN