by Emmett Smith

In his second letter to the Corinthians, the Apostle Paul wrote, "For godly grief produces a repentance that leads to salvation without regret, whereas worldly grief produces death." (2 Cor. 7:10 ESV). The older translations used the word sorrow rather than grief, but grief is probably closer to the original meaning. Regardless, the passage teaches a very important lesson about how we deal with remorse.

The Corinthian brethren had been chastised by Paul in his first epistle, and the above passage was Paul’s comment on their reaction to his criticism. He was praising them for having repented and corrected the situation, and he attributed their positive response to "godly grief". In contrast to the godly sort however, Paul wrote that "worldly grief" produces death. What a contrast! Having a godly world view does make a tremendous difference in one’s life.

This difference can be illustrated in several ways. The example of Judas is often cited in discussions of this passage. He was remorseful, but apparently not with godly remorse. So he committed suicide. Of course, physical death is not the ultimate consequence Paul had in mind here. He was comparing opposite results, salvation versus spiritual death. And if the evil one can cause someone to despair of life itself then he can forestall that person’s repentance and salvation.

The latest U.S. statistics on suicide are sobering. Among them please note the following:

• Persons under age 25 made up 15% of all suicide victims in the year 2000.
• Between 1952 and 1995, the suicide rate for adolescents and young adults nearly tripled.
• Suicide is the third leading cause of death for young people aged 15-19 years. These suicide deaths outnumber deaths from cancer, heart disease, AIDS, birth defects, stroke, and chronic lung disease combined!

It could easily be argued that the tripling of the suicide rate among young people since the early 1950s correlates to the increasingly secular nature of the government schools and our society in general. And this secularization is being pushed with a vengeance these days. How many more victims will be lost to the despair brought on by worldly grief? Don’t let yourself be one of them.

And those who know your name put their trust in you, for you, O LORD, have not forsaken those who seek you (Psalms 9:10  ESV).