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This devotional is neither a defense nor attack of Rush Limbaugh. I have not listened to him in years, making my knowledge base limited. All I know about Rush at this moment is that he said some things he obviously shouldn’t have a couple of weeks ago. I figure this puts him in the same category as 100 percent of the people in America at one time or another in their life. Problem is millions of people listen to Rush.

After making his mistake he asked for forgiveness. Knowing just a little of his personality my guess is this was not easy. Some might say he did it because of the public uproar or the fact that he was losing sponsors, thus he was losing money. His motivation for asking for forgiveness is anyone’s guess. Perhaps he really was sorry.

The person he asked for forgiveness from said she did not accept it because it was not sincere. My question is how do you judge the sincerity of an apology, any apology not just Rush’s. Here are some quick thoughts on forgiveness:

1) Always seek forgiveness when you have wronged someone. *side note: the less you say the more likely you are to not have to ask for forgiveness for misspoken words.

2) Be very willing to accept an apology because only God knows the heart.

3) When deciding if you will forgive someone, keep a good memory about what it feels like to need forgiveness and how good it is to receive it.

Matthew 6:14-15, “In prayer there is a connection between what God does and what you do. You can’t get forgiveness from God, for instance, without also forgiving others. If you refuse to do your part, you cut yourself off from God’s part.” The Message by Eugene Peterson

Nuggets of simple-truths written by Richard A. Harris