Apologies Before Peace

by David Rushworth-Smith

In general, in this world, there is always an equal and opposite reaction to every action. This can be witnessed easily in most situations and circumstances. Where there is no reaction, or where the reaction is less than equal, a human virtue is usually involved. When people refuse to respond to bad behaviour in others, the reaction is almost imperceptible. When anger in one person is dissipated by a smile from another, the reaction is not in the same category, and is usually completely harmless.

It is pleasant to witness situations in which a serious human action does not attract an equal and opposite reaction. Watching ethical and tolerant behaviour in others, gives us an assurance that our fellow human beings need not be all bad. But, of course, those experiences are the good times! Unfortunately, human beings do not always behave well. People can behave very badly when they are alone, when they are in groups, when they are aroused within a community, or when they form the majority in a nation - anywhere in the world. This is not a secret, because the international media covers reports about bad behaviour every day!

People talk glibly about peace as if it is a commodity which can be purchased in a shop. International politicians use the word peace, in a way which suggests that there is always ‘general quiet’ when a war ends. Thinking mystics have conjured up phrases about peace which have attracted a lot of attention, even though they may have achieved little in the long run. When Mahatma Ghandi said that if anyone wished to know the way to find peace, it should be realised that ‘peace is the way’, many applauded. But, peace still avoids most of those who shouted praise when they first heard him say that.

Some people pray for ‘peace’, in an abstract way. In fact, millions have prayed with the Psalmist about the ‘peace of Jerusalem’ (see Psalm 122:6). It is unkind to criticise or debate such prayers with those who pray them, because inner hopes are very personal. However, what many have not realised is that ‘peace’ is not the first step. Peace is the result, not the initiative. It is the reaction, not the action. Peace is the final blessing. Something must happen before we can experience peace, both personally and in a corporate way. Peace happens when we “turn away from doing wicked things” (see Psalm 34:14). Peace is the result of someone (or a group, community, or country) making a full apology. The ‘turning away’ mentioned by King David is the equivalent of a genuine apology. There is an ancient word for ‘making a genuine apology’ or ‘truly saying Sorry’. It is the word ‘repentance’. Just because that word may not be in our daily vocabulary does not mean that the word ‘repentance’ is now invalid, or has ceased to exist.

When the prophet insisted that his hearers should “Repent, and rid themselves of all the offences” they had committed, Ezekiel meant what he said. Equally, his following advice “and get yourselves a new heart and a new spirit” had a specific meaning (see Ezekiel 18:31). This was not a new teaching, and it has never been cancelled. This is why Paul said what he did in Athens: “God commands all people, everywhere, to repent” (see Acts 17:30). Apologising for our sins, our mistakes, and our behaviour, is a vital (and, indeed, a regular) necessity. It is a way of life.

Until we reach Heaven/Paradise, we will never say ‘goodbye’ to repentance. This is because we all need to say ‘sorry’ on a regular basis. Telling others that we are ‘sorry’ for something that we have done or said, is a life-long experience for honest (and genuinely religious) people. In fact, there is no real progress in this world, or in the Kingdom of God, without our on-going ability to apologise.

I did not attend the first of the Nuremberg trials for the captured senior Nazi leaders (1945-46). If I had done so, I might have been able to assess if any of them appeared to be genuinely ‘sorry’ for their actions - which (after all) had resulted in the death of millions of innocent people. However, one witness did record that out of twenty-one major war criminals, only a very few made any attempt at any sort of an apology. And, this witness added: ‘and Goering was unrepentant’. I was not by Stalin’s bedside when he died in 1953. If I had been, I might have been able to assess his attitude towards the millions of people who were murdered, or left to die, on his instructions. Of course, there have been genuine death-bed confessions, but it is always better if ‘changes of heart’ take place well before the call of the grave.

Since many wrongs are not righted, and because wickedness happens every day, it is unfair to illustrate this subject without having a true balance. Situations in many parts of the world cry out for more publicity, as well as for a solution. However, two incidents in the Holy Land, from opposing points of view, could communicate the reason why ‘apologies are always necessary before there can be real lasting peace’. You ask, why use illustrations from the Holy Land? Well, I am doing this because that is where the teaching about repentance has been emphasized repeatedly - for many centuries. Those who have lived in the Holy Land, and those who live there today, are surrounded by various reminders that ‘apologies are always necessary before there can be real lasting peace’.

A Hamas suicide-bomber targets a bus which is full of school children, causing death and grief in many families. How can this be justified? Will anyone repent of this atrocity? Clearly, the suicide-bomber is unable to make an apology now - especially if he made a video film justifying his actions before detonating the bomb! But why did anyone agree to (and even encourage) actions like that? Why encourage behaviour which breaches all religious ethics? What action could have caused such a violent reaction?

If you talk to members of the Hamas organisation, they will tell you that their organisation did not exist before the 9th April 1948. However, after that date, the idea for founding an organisation like Hamas was conceived. So, what happened on that date in 1948? Despite denials, and suggestions that everything has been exaggerated, there were witnesses that day who did make valid testimonies. Also, on that same day, international newspaper correspondents in Jerusalem filed articles which are still available today. These testify that the population of a quiet village called Deir Yassin was threatened with nothing less than a massacre. How many died, we shall never know, because the eye-witnesses were too involved with saving their own lives. However, to speak with those who helped to bury the dead, and to meet some of those who were orphaned, is revealing. This was an action which could only cause an equal and opposite reaction.

Does this mean that killing children in a bus is a permissible reaction? No, it does not! A suicide bomber is - by definition - guilty of murder, whatever the excuse, as also are those who plan and arrange the bombing. However, we can begin to understand that pent-up anger much better if we are aware of the action which caused that reaction. Most unkind human reactions are neither more nor less pleasant than the original human actions, even though we may not realise this to be true at the time.

Since the world is full of wickedness, we must expect to meet unkind behaviour on a regular basis. Small children in school playgrounds need to learn quickly about this human failing. Bullying does not begin when we are adults. However, can we ever hope to live in a community in which the “peace of God passes all understanding” all of the time (see Philippians 4:7)? Until we reach Heaven, the obvious answer is ‘No’.

Some years ago, Corrie ten Boom taught me that what is happening inside us when we are being bullied or treated badly, will affect the circumstances more than the treatment. In other words, it is possible to live in a harmonious situation, even if bombs are falling around us, and guns are being aimed at us, as long as our inner lives are at peace. Having this attitude does not stop wicked behaviour, but it does ensure that we do not react badly!

Having an inner spirit which is not interested in revenge means that there will be no thought of an ‘eye for an eye’. As Corrie explained, it is so refreshing to be free from all thoughts of planning a reaction which will balance an action that has been made against us. It is a completely different life-style from the laws of the jungle which can overtake us when we are angry. ‘Turning the other cheek’, and assisting those who have shown us hate and anger, does seem revolutionary at the beginning, but it can become a regular (and a very happy) way of life (see Matthew 5:1 - 7:5).

In any case, making a quick apology for bad behaviour, or for accidents and mistakes, does heal situations more quickly than diplomacy and medicine! This is because apologies are understood all over the world, in every ethnic group. Apologies even transcend the barriers of language.

"A day is coming when human pride will be ended, and arrogance will be destroyed” (see Isaiah 2:11). That is not something to vote for; it is something to aim for!

At all times, and in every situation, apologies are always necessary,before there can be a lasting peace.

Books, leaflets, audio cassettes, videos, DVDs, by this author can be obtained through bookshops worldwide, or through this website: www.rushworth-smith.com

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