Book Review: Please Sorry Thanks

Ever since I encountered In a Pit With a Lion on a Snowy Day, I've been a fan of Mark Batterson's books. He turns a clever phrase. He drives home significant points through story. My goal is to become a better person and follow harder after Christ. His books always bolster that goal.

In Please Sorry Thanks, Batterson highlights three words that, when used honestly, can change people, situations, and relationships. We should all make use of these powerful words. As it states on the back cover, "Nothing opens doors like please. Nothing mends fences like sorry. Nothing builds bridges like thanks."

While please and thanks hold importance, for me the most significant passages fell to the word sorry. I appreciated his explanation for three levels of forgiveness: detached forgiveness, limited forgiveness, and full forgiveness. I know my tendency is to jump just far enough to offer detached forgiveness, but that is insufficient. What we need is full forgiveness, and that is only possible with the help of the Holy Spirit. 

I also appreciated the section on sorry because it articulated a difficulty I encountered with our traumatic event in June. He writes, "If someone is grieving, you don't have to solve the situation for them. In fact, you can't.... offer a sincere sorry. Give the gift of tears... of ears." The ones who ministered most effectively offered tears, ears, and prayers. They did so with no accompanying judgment or instruction. Thankfully, God loves us despite our sin and waywardness. Indeed, as Batterson observes, "The love of God is... not contingent upon our performance." And he further articulated something I learn from that trauma, "What God does for us is never just for us, it's always for others."

It is my prayer that I will build on the lessons learned in this book. I want to seek the kingdom success of a giving spirit that serves others. In that endeavor, I plan to implement these three magic words even more in my life. I will pursue with please and apologize sincerely with sorry. I will express gratitude in recognition of the miraculous in my life. Perhaps my words will help change the world. This civility (of please, sorry, and thanks) brings everyone to the table.