You probably know by now that I am a big proponent of the Five Love Languages a book written by Gary Chapman. Well he wrote another book on a related topic, the Five Languages of Apology.
Sometimes just saying “I’m sorry” is not enough. We must speak to the one we wounded and speak their language of apology.
- Expressing Regret
- Accepting Responsibility
- Making Restitution
- Genuinely Repenting
- Requesting Forgiveness
If you’re unsure of what their language of apology is, then I would suggest you speak all five variants just to be certain that the person knows that you are sorry. Apologizing for what you’ve done wrong is not a damning judgment of you and you’ll spend your eternity in Hell. Apologizing to one you’ve wounded shows that you’re human and that you care about that other person enough to be willing to admit your fault.
Admit where you’ve wronged another. And speak their language of apology to them.