Violin Music – Part 2
For the sorrow that is according to the will of God produces a repentance without regret, leading to salvation, but the sorrow of the world produces death. For behold what earnestness this very thing, this godly sorrow, has produced in you: what vindication of yourselves, what indignation, what fear, what longing, what zeal, what avenging of wrong! In everything you demonstrated yourselves to be innocent in the matter [2 Corinthians 7:10-11].
We stopped yesterday on the topic of godly sorrow vs. worldly sorrow. We were in the midst of analyzing godly sorrow. Let’s continue there now.
If I have true godly sorrow, I won’t shuffle the feet and mumble under my breath, “If I’ve ever done anything to hurt you, I didn’t mean to.” That is no apology. Suchlike talk doesn’t express repentance and seek forgiveness. It doesn’t own up to my responsibility for wrongdoing. It is not prompted by godly sorrow, dear friends. Its motivation is to convince myself that I am a godly person and in that way to make myself feel better, but without any real belief that I’ve done wrong.
We understand godly sorrow all the better by comparing it with worldly sorrow. In the case of worldly sorrow I do throw a pity party and invite everyone I know to play me violin music. I even play some choice tunes on the violin myself! I bemoan my fate and rue the day I was born. I paint pictures of gloom and doom and wallow in the mire of self-pity.
The longer the party lasts, the closer to death I am driven…while the chauffeur driving me to that destination plays more violin music on the car radio! Worldly sorrow, you see, isn’t really sorry for anything related to the person enduring the sorrow, unless it be his own pathetic condition. He experiences only self-pity, not pity for others.
In the second verse of our quoted text, Paul itemizes several details we can employ to know whether our sorrow is godly or worldly. Let’s list them:
1. what vindication of yourselves
2. what indignation
3. what fear
4. what longing
5. what zeal
6. what avenging of wrong
After presenting this list, Paul noted the results of those six details: In everything you demonstrated yourselves to be innocent in the matter.
Here’s the context for the two verses. The Christians in Corinth faced sin in their church. Were they complicit in the sin or no? Paul challenged them to judge the sinner and absolve themselves of complicity in the sin.
The Corinthian Christians were wounded by Paul’s castigation of both the sin and the sinner, but even more by his castigation of them for winking at the sinner in his sin. They saw the error of their ways and demonstrated they were not participants in the sin by judging the sinner and prompting him to repent and be forgiven. In doing so they “vindicated themselves”.
After receiving Paul’s rebuke they became “indignant” about the sin and “feared” God’s judgment on them, as well as on their sinning brother. They “longed” for his repentance and restoration, and accordingly they “avenged” the wrong, doing so with “zeal”. In doing all this (i.e., “in everything”), you demonstrated yourselves to be innocent in the matter.
Do you see how pity parties demonstrate worldly, not godly, sorrow? Do you see how violin music only leads us to cry in our beer, but never to repent and be forgiven for our sin? Godly sorrow puts the onus on us for sinning against God and doing wrong to God and/or man.
Worldly sorrow, contrariwise, feels sorry for self. We are misunderstood. It’s our parents fault: they didn’t raise us right. It’s the world’s fault: we’re poor, we’re women, we’re minorities. And then there’s the ace card: the devil made us do it…etc. etc. ad nauseum ad infinitum.
Let’s keep this distinction in mind and heart, the next time we are hurting. Sometimes it is the fault of others, but even then it’s our choice whether to experience godly sorrow or worldly sorrow. Wallow in self-pity or do what is in our power to make things right, that’s our choice. And in all things we must be sure to give glory to God, rather than seek our own revenge. Can I get an amen?
To further research this issue, I direct you to my book Joshua: Volume 6 of Heavenly Citizens in Earthly Shoes. To purchase my books please go to:
http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B005PJ761C
https://sites.google.com/site/heavenl...
We stopped yesterday on the topic of godly sorrow vs. worldly sorrow. We were in the midst of analyzing godly sorrow. Let’s continue there now.
If I have true godly sorrow, I won’t shuffle the feet and mumble under my breath, “If I’ve ever done anything to hurt you, I didn’t mean to.” That is no apology. Suchlike talk doesn’t express repentance and seek forgiveness. It doesn’t own up to my responsibility for wrongdoing. It is not prompted by godly sorrow, dear friends. Its motivation is to convince myself that I am a godly person and in that way to make myself feel better, but without any real belief that I’ve done wrong.
We understand godly sorrow all the better by comparing it with worldly sorrow. In the case of worldly sorrow I do throw a pity party and invite everyone I know to play me violin music. I even play some choice tunes on the violin myself! I bemoan my fate and rue the day I was born. I paint pictures of gloom and doom and wallow in the mire of self-pity.
The longer the party lasts, the closer to death I am driven…while the chauffeur driving me to that destination plays more violin music on the car radio! Worldly sorrow, you see, isn’t really sorry for anything related to the person enduring the sorrow, unless it be his own pathetic condition. He experiences only self-pity, not pity for others.
In the second verse of our quoted text, Paul itemizes several details we can employ to know whether our sorrow is godly or worldly. Let’s list them:
1. what vindication of yourselves
2. what indignation
3. what fear
4. what longing
5. what zeal
6. what avenging of wrong
After presenting this list, Paul noted the results of those six details: In everything you demonstrated yourselves to be innocent in the matter.
Here’s the context for the two verses. The Christians in Corinth faced sin in their church. Were they complicit in the sin or no? Paul challenged them to judge the sinner and absolve themselves of complicity in the sin.
The Corinthian Christians were wounded by Paul’s castigation of both the sin and the sinner, but even more by his castigation of them for winking at the sinner in his sin. They saw the error of their ways and demonstrated they were not participants in the sin by judging the sinner and prompting him to repent and be forgiven. In doing so they “vindicated themselves”.
After receiving Paul’s rebuke they became “indignant” about the sin and “feared” God’s judgment on them, as well as on their sinning brother. They “longed” for his repentance and restoration, and accordingly they “avenged” the wrong, doing so with “zeal”. In doing all this (i.e., “in everything”), you demonstrated yourselves to be innocent in the matter.
Do you see how pity parties demonstrate worldly, not godly, sorrow? Do you see how violin music only leads us to cry in our beer, but never to repent and be forgiven for our sin? Godly sorrow puts the onus on us for sinning against God and doing wrong to God and/or man.
Worldly sorrow, contrariwise, feels sorry for self. We are misunderstood. It’s our parents fault: they didn’t raise us right. It’s the world’s fault: we’re poor, we’re women, we’re minorities. And then there’s the ace card: the devil made us do it…etc. etc. ad nauseum ad infinitum.
Let’s keep this distinction in mind and heart, the next time we are hurting. Sometimes it is the fault of others, but even then it’s our choice whether to experience godly sorrow or worldly sorrow. Wallow in self-pity or do what is in our power to make things right, that’s our choice. And in all things we must be sure to give glory to God, rather than seek our own revenge. Can I get an amen?
To further research this issue, I direct you to my book Joshua: Volume 6 of Heavenly Citizens in Earthly Shoes. To purchase my books please go to:
http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B005PJ761C
https://sites.google.com/site/heavenl...
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