Just a Thought: What does good regret look like compared to bad regret? Paul tells us, “Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret, but worldly sorrow brings death.” (2 Cor 7:10) Regret that brings true remorse and changes our course is good regret. Sorrow that is just sorry we got caught or stuck with the circumstances is bad regret that leads to death. Death of relationships. Death to opportunities. Death to our emotional life. destruction that leads to death in or of us. Two examples in the Bible make these two vividly clear. Peter after denying the Lord three times (as Jesus told him he would), went out and wept bitterly. He regretted what he had done. Peter struggled with this and even went back for a time to his old life of being a fisherman. But, when Jesus came to him, he repented and in so doing was used of the Lord mightily. Judas, on other hand, having betrayed Christ and realizing the results of what he had done. Regretted what he had done and was so sorrowful that he ended his own life instead of repenting. So, what does good regret look like for us? Good regret leads us to repent. We acknowledge our wrong and call it what it is, wrong. We own it not only for being wrong, but we understand why it was wrong so that we desire to change course of action. We seek to make it right. There is no attempt to sweep it under the rug, but only to make amends as much as is possible with us. There is a genuine concern for how our actions then and now will impact others moving forward. There is a deeper concern for others as a result and desire to see things done right in the future. Good regret leads to repentance and the erasing of the olds regret. We will never regret having experienced true regret because true regret that leads to true repentance leads to new beginnings. I have no doubt we each have had many regrets in our lives. The question is, how many of these have been good regrets? Regrets that taught us good lessons, molded us and changed our lives for the better. If you are struggling with ANY regrets today, how can you turn these bad regrets into good regrets? Begin by looking at what you must do to make them right. Dear Lord, as I look at my life, I have some regrets. I have not dealt with these properly up until today. Now Lord, help me to see through Your word and the leadership of the Holy Spirit what I must do to turn these bad regrets into good regrets and new beginnings that You can use in me and others. In Jesus name, amen.
