“While worldly grief results in death, godly grief produces a repentance that leads to salvation without regret.” Corinthians 7:10
Realizing how sinful we are in God’s eyes is a dismal realization. We have excellent reason to grieve when we discover that we have a seriously damaged relationship with God, and that we are powerless to mend it. How we react to this information is the important question. Does grief lead to repentance, which brings about salvation? Subsequently, we can express our gratitude to God for illuminating the agonizing reality and providing a remedy. When we reflect, we realize that our grief was “godly grief.” It was a productive and necessary grief.
But according to the apostle Paul, there is anguish of this world that likewise results in death. What is his meaning? Assuming that we are aware of our sin, we can express regret for the results. “Worldly grief” laments the unfavorable effects on our own life and worries about what other people, not God, may think of us. “Worldly grief” will never result in repentance or mending our connection with the Lord since it is unconcerned with the wrongs we have done to Him. The fact that “the wages of sin is death” (Romans 6:23) remains unresolved. Paul claims that worldly anguish “produces death” for this reason.
Do you regret the consequences of your crimes alone, or do you also regret having offended God?
