WHEN GUILT IS A BLESSING?

2 Corinthians 7:8-13

It is almost universally agreed that guilt is one of the major contributing causes of human distress. It's not very often that all mental health professionals agree on anything, but they do appear to be in almost universal agreement in their belief that unresolved guilt lies at the root of most, if not all human unhappiness.

Having said that, it is also true that they will part company when it comes to explaining just how guilt makes people unhappy. One segment of the mental health community claims that people are unhappy because their feelings of guilt prevent them from doing the things they really want to do.

Another segment of the mental health community takes the very opposite approach. They say that people are unhappy because they know they have done things they had no business doing in the first place.

There is some truth in both points of view and there is falsehood if you take either one of those views to an extreme. We need to learn to avoid extremes in both directions. The middle verses of 2 Corinthians 7 provide some healthy insight into the way a Christian handles the problem of guilt. Paul wanted his readers to understand that the sorrowful feeling we experience when we have done wrong is actually a blessing.

PAUL'S REGRET AND LACK OF REGRET

To appreciate the background of Paul's thought here, we need to go back and look once again at Paul's thought in 2:4.

For I wrote you out of great distress and anguish of heart and with many tears, not to grieve you but to let you know the depth of my love for you.

In that verse, he spoke of a previous letter. We don't know the precise identity of that letter. It might have been the letter we call "First Corinthians." On the other hand, it's possible there may have been another letter written in between First and Second Corinthians that has not survived.

What we know for sure is the fact that Paul had planned to visit Corinth, but those plans had been set aside. Instead of making a visit, he sent a letter, which was apparently quite harsh in its tone. Now, he wanted his readers to understand that he didn't hold any bitter feelings toward them. What he had to say had been written out of the "depth of love." Now he was writing another letter and he didn't seem to be able to forget the letter, which had contained the harsh material. He didn't seem to be quite certain about the way his thoughts would be received. Some of his mixed feelings surfaced in verse 8.

Even if I caused you sorrow by my letter, I do not regret it. Though I did regret it-I see that my letter hurt you, but only for a little while-

Why would Paul say in one breath, "I don't regret causing you sorrow?" and the with almost the same stroke of the pen say, "But I do regret it."

He didn't regret making them aware of their guilt, because their guilt was the catalyst for an important blessing. Notice his thought in verse 10

Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret, but worldly sorrow brings death.

There is sorrow, but the sorrow is a stepping stone to repentance, which in turn is a stepping stone to salvation. And that was so good that he concluded in verse 13, "By all this we are encouraged."

But there was also regret. He regretted having hurt the people whom he loved dearly. In this case, the pain was temporary and served a beneficial purpose, but he took no pleasure in causing pain.

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