Proverbs 21:3
"To do righteousness and justice is desired by the Lord more than sacrifice"
Which is more desired by God: to obey or to repent when you do something bad? Clearly it is to obey and do the thing right the first time.
One of the things that my children did not completely grasp is that saying "I'm sorry" did not fix a relational problem especially when the "I'm sorry" was said half-heartedly. I wanted my daughter to realize before she hit her sisters or tried to trick them that there was probably a positive or encouraging thing to do instead. They seemed to think that there was always "I'm sorry" as a way out of relational trouble. This is not true with God and it is not true with other people.
This verse tells us that God does not want you to be breaking the laws and principles and then counting on the sacrifice to make it right. God really wants you to surrender to Him before you do something. What would bring the greatest amount of joy, peace, love, and encouragement into this situation? What does God want me to do?
Are you relying on apology rather than just doing things right the first time?
Until tomorrow,
Gil Stieglitz