The world we live in is pretty uniform in its view of things.
We generally know which things are good and which things are bad. We generally know which things we should seek and which things we should avoid.
If we have a choice, we move toward happiness and ease and comfort. On the other hand, we tend to move away from pain and sacrifice and discomfort. And that way of looking at things is so obvious that we would rarely call it into question.
In light of that, I was a little surprised the other day to read what the Apostle Paul had to say about sorrow.
In 2 Corinthians 7, Paul is talking about a difficult letter that he had to write to his friends. Evidently, his previous letter caused them sorrow. Even more, Paul felt bad that he had caused them to feel that way. Ultimately, however, he owned the sorrow that he had caused because that sorrow led to a good result. With that thought, Paul launches into a discussion about the value of what he calls "godly sorrow." He says that godly sorrow is a good thing because it leads to repentance and change and right relationship with God. The value of sorrow, according to Paul, can be measured by its ultimate outcome. And if the outcome is good, then even the sorrow can be seen as good.
The key word in that conversation is the word "godly." In contrast to godly sorrow, Paul says that worldly sorrow leads to death; that kind of sorrow has no good outcome. But sorrow that works in concert with the purposes of God leads to life and health and wholeness.
And I am intrigued by that.
I've been taught to avoid sorrow. But Paul tells me that sorrow can be a good thing when it is in line with the purposes of God.
I experience sorrow when I consider my own sin. I feel sorrow when I think about the needs of the world. Sorrow overwhelms me when I realize that there are so few things in this world that I can fix. I bend under the weight of sorrow when I think about my own lack of compassion and concern for others. I am deeply sorrowful when I am forced to grapple with my own unfaithfulness. And all that sorrow is so hard that I might tend to ignore it or pretend that it's not there.
Or I can own that sorrow and invite God to use it for his purposes.
God can take all that sorrow and use it to change me. When that happens, that sorrow has become "godly." And it can lead to some wonderful things.
How good of God to take something so painful - my sorrow! - and use it to accomplish things that he thinks are good!
The key word in that conversation is the word "godly." In contrast to godly sorrow, Paul says that worldly sorrow leads to death; that kind of sorrow has no good outcome. But sorrow that works in concert with the purposes of God leads to life and health and wholeness.
And I am intrigued by that.
I've been taught to avoid sorrow. But Paul tells me that sorrow can be a good thing when it is in line with the purposes of God.
I experience sorrow when I consider my own sin. I feel sorrow when I think about the needs of the world. Sorrow overwhelms me when I realize that there are so few things in this world that I can fix. I bend under the weight of sorrow when I think about my own lack of compassion and concern for others. I am deeply sorrowful when I am forced to grapple with my own unfaithfulness. And all that sorrow is so hard that I might tend to ignore it or pretend that it's not there.
Or I can own that sorrow and invite God to use it for his purposes.
God can take all that sorrow and use it to change me. When that happens, that sorrow has become "godly." And it can lead to some wonderful things.
How good of God to take something so painful - my sorrow! - and use it to accomplish things that he thinks are good!