Is Just Being "Sorry" Enough?

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 2 Corinthians 7:8-9 "Even if I caused you sorrow by my letter, I do not regret it. Though I did regret it—I see that my letter hurt you, but only for a little while—9 yet now I am happy, not because you were made sorry, but because your sorrow led you to repentance. For you became sorrowful as God intended and so were not harmed in any way by us. 10 Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret, but worldly sorrow brings death. 11 See what this godly sorrow has produced in you: what earnestness, what eagerness to clear yourselves, what indignation, what alarm, what longing, what concern, what readiness to see justice done.

 We can learn a lot about Paul in this passage.  We see his care for the Corinthians, his willingness to confront the sin that affected the church, and how he distinguishes between "godly sorrow" and "worldly sorrow".  Godly sorrow leads to repentance, whereas worldly sorry just makes someone feel sorry for themselves.  

 Paul wrote another letter after his first visit to Corinth, after his first letter to them.  He addressed an incident which was not being dealt with in a godly manner in the church.  By not dealing with it, the church was in effect condoning it.  Paul knew that unless he addressed this it could be like a cancer spreading through the church.  He sent his assistant Titus to deliver this letter.  When Titus returned to Paul later he let him know that the church received the letter, became sorrowful, and that sorrow led to repentance.

 Importanly Paul distinguishes between "godly sorrow" and "worldly sorrow".  Godly sorrow comes from knowing who God is and how one's behavior affects Him. God cannot just blink at our sin because of his just nature.  Godly sorrow helps us to see our actions through the eyes of a loving, faithful, merciful and yet just God. We are sorry because, in light of who God is, we want to change.  Though we aren't saved by this sorrow and we cannot even create the repentance that comes through it, it leads to a change of behavior, which we call repentance. The easiest definition of repentance is, "turning from something we know is wrong."    

 You might liken worldly sorrow to doing something to offend your spouse or good friend.  You are sorry that they are mad at you and you may try to do something to appease them but that's about it.  True sorrow is understanding at a deep level how what you have done affects who they are and your relationship with them.  You are looking at it from their perspective, which we call empathy, not just your own.  When you truly understand this and feel it you want to change your behavior.  While this is only an earthly analogy I think it is similar to when we truly realize how our sin affects God.  These are the same sins that sent Jesus to the cross to die for them.  Again God could not just turn the other way because of His very nature but Jesus stood in our place and took the punishment we justly deserved.  This is the purest expression of God's love for us, as we remember that it was His Son who died for us. 

 Paul is overjoyed that the Corinthians experienced godly sorrow that lead them to true repentance.  Why?  Because he knows that this repentance restored their relationship to God and in a sense with him.  

 As you think about your life is there anything in your life that you know offends God?  As you confess your sins to Him, know that God loves you and died for you. As you trust in faith in what Jesus did for you, you are forgiven and restored to a perfect relationship with Him.   You are free to serve God and love others the way He loves you!  This is the essence of the Christian life. 

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