We have all sinned and fallen short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23).
We have all done some things of which we are ashamed…at least I hope so.
Why?
Because our shame is what leads to godly sorrow…which leads to true repentance…
2 Corinthians 7:10 (NKJV)
For godly sorrow produces repentance leading to salvation, not to be regretted; but the sorrow of the world produces death.
Remember that repentance isn’t simply just asking God for forgiveness, but a made up, resolute mind to completely turn from the sin that we’ve committed or have been practicing. Repentance according to Strong’s Concordance literally means “a change of mind”. All sin, no matter how spontaneous, begins with a thought.
Repentance is a legal U-Turn in your mind…
God wants us to REPENT and not REPEAT!
So, it’s good when we have regret of what we did. In fact, we should make the most of our regrets to be better people. Find out more about this in my article, “How to Make the Most of Your Regrets”.
But, what about when we don’t have regrets? What about those things that we’re glad we did?
It may have given us pleasure…
We may have felt vindicated…
We may have ‘gotten even’ with someone…
It might have given us glory…
We may have gained wealth and prominence…
Whatever the reason…you know in your heart that it was WRONG, but you’re still GLAD (sometimes even proud) you did it.
I remember when I was a teenager, I used to have older men come to me and brag about how they used to ‘run the women’ when they were younger…but not in a shameful, “Don’t make the same mistakes I made” type of way. No, they were bragging. They were trying to impress me. It was clear they were still proud of if. Well, if they’ve asked God to forgive them…the sin is still there.
God only forgives us when we repent. Yes, we’ve all gone back and done some things that we had not only asked forgiveness for, but also promised God that we would not do again. He knew when we said it.
But, God knows the difference in a changed mind that really worked hard, and sometimes even struggled not to go back…And, when someone is actually proud of what they did.
God knows when we unexpectedly end up in tempting situations…And, when we actually position ourselves to commit the same sin again.
Think for a moment. Is there a sin in which God hasn’t forgiven you?
If you’re still glad that you did it…
If you know in your heart that you would do it again…
If you think back on it fondly…
If you sometimes brag about it…
If you have no shame…
Then it’s a good chance that you haven’t repented, and if not…that sin is still there.
Think of how you feel when someone has hurt you, and even though they say they’re “sorry”…they continue to do it over and over, or they don’t show any remorse.
That’s evidence that we’re made in God’s image, the fact that we can hurt just as He hurts when done wrong.
You see…we’re like our Father in heaven…
We want people to REPENT and not REPEAT too.
Examine yourself today. If there is sin in your life that you don’t regret. Pray for a repentant heart. Make an effort to have a total change of mind about that sin.
If you don’t regret it because it gave you pleasure…think of how that pleasure hurt God.
If you don’t regret it because you felt vindicated for got even…forgive.
If you don’t regret it because it gave you glory…think of the fact that you were sharing that glory with the devil and not God.
If you don’t regret it because you gained wealth or prominence…use your resources and influence to give glory to God.
Be ashamed enough of what you did that it hurts you to think of yourself doing it again…
Make a legal U-Turn in your mind.
REPENT and don’t REPEAT
BE BLESSTIFIED!
BE BLESSTIFIED! 