Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret, but worldly sorrow brings death.
2 Corinthians 7:10 (NIV)
Wendy and I have been shocked in recent weeks as we continue to read about the continued rise of antisemitism and the hatred and vitriol spewing out of the mouths and social media posts of others. It breaks my heart and leaves me scratching my head.
A few years ago my friend and I were planning. production of a play called Freud’s Last Session (It was made into a motion picture starring Anthony Hopkins, and I highly recommend it). It’s a historic “what if” play that imagines Sigmund Freud inviting a young Oxford don named C.S. Lewis to his office in London for a conversation just before his death. For reasons that similarly broke my heart and left me scratching my head, the production was black-balled. Nevertheless, we’d had the script memorized and had been working it for some time.
Amidst the debate, the subject of shame arises. Lewis argues that shame can be a good thing and he wishes the world experienced more of it. I remember chewing on this line long and hard. As an Enneagram Type Four, the toxic version of shame has always been a core struggle of mine. The toxic version of shame is a deep sense of being flawed and worthless that leads to all sorts of unhealthy places. But Lewis wasn’t talking about that type of shame.
Today’s chapter is unique in that it addresses events between Paul and the believers in Corinth that are lost to history. He speaks of a letter he wrote to them in which he frankly addressed a matter between individuals within the gathering of believers. Paul states that it was a matter of justice. We’ll never know for sure what it was. What we do know from Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians is that there were all sorts of troubles within the local gathering. Paul was also frank with them in that letter.
Paul reports that Titus, with whom Paul appears to have sent the letter, had returned. He reported to Paul that his letter produced a sense of “godly sorrow” within the believers. He then contrasts that “godly sorrow,” much like what the character of C.S. Lewis meant by “good shame” in Freud’s Last Session, leads to a positive change which leads to healthy places and salvation. “Worldly sorrow,” he states, leads to unhealthy places and death.
And this brings me back to the hatred I witness in others. It causes Lewis’ line wishing for more “good shame” to resonate in my heart and mind. I love that the believers in Corinth responded to Paul’s letter in the right way, and that it led to good things. It reminds me of Jesus’ parable of the sower whose seed falls on different types of soil and results in vastly different outcomes. I pray for Jesus’ message of love to find good soil in the world and bear fruit. History is filled with examples of the unhealthy and murderous place that hatred and prejudice lead. The world could use some sorrow that leads to positive change.
I will be traveling much of the next two weeks. I plan to return June 9th. Don’t forget there’s an entire archive of posts indexed by book if you would like a fix while I’m away! 👇🏼 Cheers!
https://tomvanderwell.com/2019/09/02/chapter-a-day-posts-by-book/
