Godly Sorrow Vs. Worldly Sorrow
2 Corinthians 7:9-10
“Now I rejoice, not that ye were made sorry, but that ye sorrowed to repentance: for ye were made sorry after a godly manner, that ye might receive damage by us in nothing. For godly sorrow worketh repentance to salvation not to be repented of: but the sorrow of the world worketh death.”
We see in the verses above that there are two sorrows you must deal with in life. When I talk about sorrow, I am talking about a person being sorry when their sin is revealed. When a person is caught doing wrong, their heart will either have a godly or worldly sorrow. Each sorrow leads to a different end, and each sorrow truly reveals the heart. Let me show you each of these sorrows.
The first type of sorrow is godly sorrow. Godly sorrow is a sorrow that is caused because you know you did wrong, and you want to get right with God. This sorrow always causes a person to get right and change what they were doing. Often a person will say they are sorry, but godly sorrow will cause them to change their ways.
However, there is a worldly sorrow that only leads to death. Worldly sorrow is when a person is sorry that they got caught. They are not sorry that they did wrong, only that someone caught them. You can identify this sorrow by how they respond to being caught. Worldly sorrow causes a person to lash back, attack the one who exposed their sin, cause them to try to explain their sin away, point the blame to someone else, try to change the story so they can continue their sin, and will cause a person to become bitter towards the one who exposed their sin.
Let me explain by showing you two different people. Saul had a worldly sorrow. When the prophet came to Saul to expose his sin, he tore the prophets garment wanting to save his reputation with the people. Saul was more concerned with his perception with people than he was with correcting his sin. Saul’s sorrow led him to attack those who were closest to him and those who wanted to help him the most. On the other hand, when the prophet came to David, he had a godly sorrow. Instead of attacking the prophet, David’s godly sorrow caused him to get right with God. David’s godly sorrow was not as concerned with how the people saw him, but rather with getting his relationship right with God. The end of these two men show their sorrow as Saul’s sin caused his death, and David’s spirit was revived.
Worldly sorrow always causes death. Romans 6:23 teaches, “For the wages of sin is death…” Christian, you can get upset with those who expose your sin, but you truly need to get right with God and turn from your sinful ways. Instead of getting upset with the messenger when you do wrong, you need to have godly sorrow that will lead you to changing your ways. Godly sorrow always lead to happiness. I challenge you to have such a tender heart towards God that when your sin is revealed, you accept the admonishment and change your way. This is what leads to true happiness.
Let me take this one other direction. If you are a leader who must confront someone with their sin, you must determine whether their sorrow is godly or worldly. Knowing the difference will determine how you must deal with that person. As a parent, you cannot allow worldly sorrow in your home. You need to work with your children so that they understand the death that sin brings. As a leader in the church or workplace, a person who has godly sorrow can be trusted, but a person with worldly sorrow will hurt you and others around them; you cannot allow them to hold any leadership positions. Knowing which type of sorrow a person has will determine their usefulness. Only use those who have godly sorrow, for their heart is tender towards God.