Sorrow Leads Us to...

Now I rejoice, not that you were made sorry, but that your sorrow led to repentance. For you were made sorry in a godly manner, that you might suffer loss from us in nothing. For godly sorrow produces repentance leading to salvation, not to be regretted; but the sorrow of the world produces death. 2 Cor 7:9-10 (NKJV)

In beginning our study from the movie Amazing Grace, one of the questions asks, "What is the difference between guilt that leads to death and sorrow that leads to life?"

I think we first have to understand the difference between guilt and sorrow.

Guilt in a simple definition is the feeling one has towards an accepted action. Guilt is the prick in one's psyche that tells them they have committed a wrong. For that to happen, however, there has to be a medium or standard.

Today's mantra for our generation is "if it feels good then do it". We would like to think that we are the ones who coined it or at least perfected it. The problem is that there is a book of the Bible that dates back 3000 years that shows people held the same idea:

In those days there was no king in Israel; everyone did what was right in his own eyes. Judges 21:25 (NKJV)

Sound familiar? If it is right for me then it must be alright. That is a true statement only when measured by the verse from Judges. The people of Israel did what was right in their own eyes due to the fact that they did not have a king. They did not have an authority figure. They did not live by standards.

Sin is easy to dismiss when responsibility for one's actions is tossed aside. This becomes easy when you have friends who are doing the same activities. Guilt has a harder time settling into your mind when you can justify your actions with the actions of those around you - it feels good, so how can it be wrong? I believe it's okay, why is everyone having a cow?

Guilt is the barometer of our impending departure from this earth, and by that I mean death. The higher the barometer the more our anger. The higher our barometer then the more we wish to rid ourselves of anything that can get in the way of our pleasure.

Just look at the anger and outrage shown by those engaged in the slave trade. They were more eager to shoot the messenger of guilt than to accept its message. Why? The message was going to ruin their earthly gains. It would get in the way of their pleasure.

The problem is that guilt never completely hides, it just becomes a stronger emotion - one that either destroys us in hatred or brings us to a place of sorrow.

Guilt leads to death. Either you physically die from it or you put to death the very thing that created it. This is where another problem arises - no matter what actions we take to put guilt to death, we remain stained and it doesn't go away. It is a barometer that measures our sin, and only one thing can appease sin and that is death.

As a Christian, I have found that the only true reconciliation against the knowledge of my deserved death is how I react to the sorrow that the guilt produces. Once I truly became sorry for the actions that created the guilt (whether it was lust or greed or pride or hatred or lying or stealing or whatever), I found that I have been given a way out from under its crushing punishment.

You see, guilt shows us that we are imprisoned and there is not any amount of happy living that can help us forget that prison we live in. There had to be an appeasement for that guilt, and we can only accept that freedom from the prison of guilt by acknowledging our guilt. This is where sorrow leads to life.

Sorrow is an expression of grief and disappointment. It is accepting that we are guilty, and it also makes known that the only way out is through accepting that Jesus died to set us free. It is accepting the fact that we cannot do anything by our own hands to purify that guilt. It is accepting that God wants none to parish but all to come to Christ.

It was sorrow that began to drive the hearts of the men who longed to rid their nation of the sinful practice of slavery. It was sorrow that led to the American Civil War. It was sorrow that helped open the doors for black Americans so they also could experience freedom to live.

It is sorrow that must also change our hearts and keep us from from thinking that everything we do is okay as long as we feel good about it. We can't make wrong right just by saying it is and then practicing it as if it is right.

Sorrow should lead us away from regrets. It should lead us into change or life. Don't go through life living with regrets. Make a change now, and start making a difference. Let Christ become your standard for living a free life - a life free from guilt!

Let Jesus become your Savior by accepting His sacrifice in your place.