Two Sorrows
When I was younger, shame or guilt would often overwhelm me. The trigger could be an obvious area where I had failed, and I simply could not shake the gloom as I desperately sought forgiveness. Other times, I endured a suffocating fear that something was wrong or that I needed to confess something. I assumed this weighty guilt was the Spirit’s conviction as I sank deeper into despair.
a shameful example
Although Dubai has some of the most lenient social codes in the Persian Gulf, authorities occasionally make examples of those who blatantly flout the law. During our 2-year stay in the metropolis, there were reports of Westerners who’d been sentenced to jail for kissing in public or exchanging steamy text messages.
not less in your mess
God’s royal family in Genesis was a bit seamy. Consider Abraham’s family. He slept with his female slave and later consented to his wife’s desire to banish the woman and his son by sending her into the wilderness (Genesis 21:14). What family could be worse than that?
what kind of sorrow?
In the wake of numerous public confessions by fallen politicians, sports figures, and business executives, Paul Wilkes references Susan Wise Bauer’s helpful distinction: “An apology is an expression of regret: I am sorry. A confession is an admission of fault: I am sorry because I did wrong. I sinned.” Wilkes goes on: “Apology addresses an audience. Confession implies an inner change . . . that will be manifested in outward action.”
turning away
His tears revealed the sincerity of his sorrow. My young friend, a member of the youth group I work with, was torn up inside. For years, he had used drugs. Then he began selling them to others. Now, no longer dealing, his heart was broken as he considered the many kids and youth that he turned on to drugs. He saw them sinking into self-destruction and he felt terrible.
