*Text: 2 Cor. 7: 10*
“For godly sorrow produces repentance leading to salvation, not to be regretted; but the sorrow of the world produces death”
Generally nobody likes to be sorrowful, because sorrow is associated with bad things, things that makes people sad, things that bring pain to people – physical and emotional pain. For instance the loss of a job, the loss of a loved one – a wife/husband, a child, parents, the loss of a desired opportunity, misfortune, bad news. These are examples of situations that will make people to be sorrowful and nobody prays for any of these things, though they happen all the same whether we desire them or not and when they do, they come with sorrow
There is however a different type of sorrow, another word for this type of sorrow is remorse, it means to be sorry for a wrong that was committed. If for instance you accuse someone wrongly and you later find out that the person actually is innocent of what you accused him of, naturally you will be sorrowful or remorseful and often times you seek to right the wrong you committed by apologizing to the person, telling him/her that you are sorry for what you did. This is the type of sorrow that the apostle Paul was talking about in this passage.
Apostle Paul apparently had written a third letter to the Corinthians, it was a rather harsh letter that sternly rebuked them for certain things that had gone wrong in the church which he expected them to correct. The letter was so strongly worded that the apostle Paul by his own testimony said that he initially was sorrowful or remorseful that he wrote the letter, but later he became glad that he wrote the letter seeing that the letter produced desired results in the church. The result is that the letter made the believers sorrowful for their action and repented of it. Now it was not the fact that the letter made them sorrowful that gladdened the heart of Apostle Paul, but the fact that the sorrow led them to repentance and the apostle Paul described this type of sorrow that leads to repentance as godly sorrow.
There is another type of sorrow however that does not produce repentance, this is the type of sorrow that Judas Iscariot had when the implication of his role in the arrest and crucifixion of Jesus Christ dawned on him. Scripture tells us that he was sorry for what he did and actually returned the money he was paid back to the Jewish leaders who refused to collect the money from him, but unfortunately his sorrow rather than lead him to repentance led him instead to commit suicide and that granted him express passage to hell. Apostle Paul described this type of sorrow as worldly sorrow.
It is not enough to be sorry or to be sorrowful for living in sin or living a life of disobedience to God. It is not enough to be sorry that you have been an unfaithful husband or unfaithful wife to your spouse. It is not enough to be sorrowful that you have been dishonest in your business dealings. If you just stop at that level, then that type of sorrow is worldly sorrow and it will only produce death as it did for Judas Iscariot. But the sorrow must lead to repentance. You have seen the errors of your ways and you are sorry for the pain you have caused, but you must not stop there, you must take a step forward by repenting of the wrong you have done and taking necessary steps to make amends and to make your way right. This is godly sorrow and it leads to life. Shalom
Prayer Points
1. Father I thank you for your willingness and readiness to forgive whenever there is genuine sorrow and repentance for wrongs committed. Thank you for making me a beneficiary of this grace
2. Father thank you for lifting the burden of sin off my life and for giving me a new life in Christ Jesus
3. Father help me never to be comfortable walking or living in unrighteousness in Jesus name
4. Father it is your will that I live right before you, please grant me grace to do so in Jesus name
5. Father please deliver me from any decision or any part that will lead me to hell in Jesus name.
