The Kind Of Sorrow God Wants

I am not sorry that I sent that severe letter to you, though I was sorry at first, for I know it was painful to you for a little while. Now I am glad I sent it, not because it hurt you, but because the pain caused you to repent and change your ways. It was the kind of sorrow God wants his people to have, so you were not harmed by us in any way. For the kind of sorrow God wants us to experience leads us away from sin and results in salvation. There’s no regret for that kind of sorrow. But worldly sorrow, which lacks repentance, results in spiritual death. 2 Corinthians 7:8-10

IT DIDN’T BRING PAUL any pleasure to point out the Corinthians’ sin and call them on it. He loved them, and he knew himself to be “chief” of sinners (1 Timothy 1:15, KJV). Though being so severe with them made him uncomfortable, he was willing to do it because he knew their salvation was at stake. He was God’s messenger to bring them back to the path of repentance that leads to life.

When we see ongoing, unrepentant sin in the life of our child who claims to be a believer, love demands that we refuse to ignore it and instead help them to recognize it for what it is and call them to forsake it. No parent wants to bring sorrow to his or her child. But godly sorrow is a redemptive anguish that ensures our child’s eternal happiness.

When Jesus says, “God blesses those who mourn, for they will be comforted” (Matthew 5:4), he’s not talking about simply being sad over the losses and disappointments we experience in life. Neither is he talking about a general sense of sadness over not being who we want to be. He’s talking about deep sorrow over specific sins that break God’s heart. That is godly sorrow.

After we’ve taken care of getting the log out of our own eye, we can point out the splinters in our children’s eyes that they cannot see. We can also pray that godly sorrow will cause them to repent and change their ways.

Lord, help me to be willing to cause ________ pain now to save him from an eternity of being separated from you. Use my frank but loving words to help ________ overcome habitual sins.