Sorrow

2 Corinthians 7:9 yet now I am happy, not because you were made sorry, but because your sorrow lead you to repentance. For you became sorrowful as God intended and so were not harmed in any way by us.

There is a popular belief in society that all discomfort needs to be eliminated from life. We see it in the “triggered” crowd who take offense at almost everything. We hear it in the appeals for “social justice,” by which they mean equality of outcome regardless of effort exerted or differences in gifting and ability. They just want all pain to go away.

But these are “dead man’s goals!” Life is filled with so much struggle. That is what defines life. When the struggle is over, we are dead. We recognize that to be a successful athlete, you have to spend years of hard training. There is pain in reaching things that are worthwhile. There is no free lunch.

But this seems to be a common goal for certain belief systems these days. They view the world as one big unequal scale that must be balanced, and of course they are the ones who can balance the scale.

Paul’s life was filled with struggle, and yet he experienced great joy. But he also experienced sorrow, from which he didn’t run. That is because the down sides of life can teach us important lessons that can’t be learned on the top side of life. The pains of life drive us to find relief.

And it is this up side of life’s sorrows that Paul talks about in our text. The Corinthian church had some serious problems and Paul had pointed them out. They became sorrowful during the process. They were in pain and anguish at what Paul had said concerning their behaviors. In order to get out of the pain and anguish, they changed their behavior. They changed the trajectory of their walk with Christ.

Paul says there is a godly sorrow that accompanies disobedience, and that is a good thing. There is a good shame that follows disobedience. It is a good shame if it leads to a change in  behavior. I want to enhance that sense of shame that is connected to behavior that should be changed.

But Paul isn’t talking about a self-loathing that focuses on permanent aspects of our being. He is speaking about behaviors that characterize our life in Christ. The standard is holiness. Being like Christ in godly actions, attitudes, and thoughts is the goal. Loving one another as Christ loved us. It is leaving it all on the field for the other person, serving their needs above our own.

I pray for more of this kind of godly sorrow in our world. I hope you will join me in this prayer.