what if a catholic priest were to just bless the entire ocean would it turn the entire thing into holy water or do priests have an effective blessing range? does that range increase based on your level? can the pope bless the entire ocean?
Most people you know really suck at apologizing and the number one reason is that they lack humility. True, Biblical humility simply means seeing yourself accurately - seeing yourself as you really are. In other words, people who don’t apologize well simply can’t let themselves admit that they were wrong about anything… ever.
If you find yourself in the middle of a conflict or caught up in some tension with someone you care about, the chances are really good that both parties involved played some part in making everything go downhill. Rarely will you find yourself in a conflict that is entirely one person’s fault. Most of the time, the blame is shared blame. This shouldn’t be an uncomfortable thought. We are all sinful people with funky, selfish motives and skewed points of view. That being the case, we should expect that we are going to think and say the wrong thing quite often - which means, we need to learn how to get good at confessing our wrong with honesty and humility, and without excuses.
When you are in a tension or conflict:
Have the courage to look at your own heart, words, posture and affect and then ask yourself this question: Where have I been wrong in this thing? Am I willing to admit that out loud?
Do not waste your time defending yourself. It will only increase the drama, temperature and length of the conflict.
Do not cover up an accusation by making it sound like an apology (I’m sorry that you reacted so strongly to what I said) - you’re not apologizing, you’re blaming the other person.
Admit your own faults with no excuses - and without expectation that the other person is going to automatically admit theirs.
The whole time you’re in the conflict, pray silently to yourself. Ask the Lord to turn that person’s heart toward you and ask Him to help you love them as you’re working through it.
Use these words: “I am sorry for what I said/did. It was wrong of me. Will you forgive me?”
The more comfortable you get with humility, the better your relationships will be. Not only that, but conflict handled with humility resolves about 50,000 times faster than conflict where you dig in your heels and insist upon being right. And that alone is a good reason to start becoming a professional at humility.