Guilt VS. Godly Sorrow

Lately I’ve been thinking about the difference between guilt and godly sorrow; and how we often get the two confused. With a life time of church teachings, why are they so easily mixed up? Why do I often feel guilt stronger than godly sorrow? How can I look at my mistakes differently? And how can I accept my mistakes and move on?

Although many church leaders have good intentions, sometimes their words promote guilt to motivate us. And with condemnation so common in the scriptures, the message gets spread throughout the church and to us personally. When we are guilty (not a feeling, but a condition) of something, a scripture that condemns the sinner to hell catches our attention. We often begin to feel guilty. But is what we did really that bad? Are we the true character that the scriptures are depicting? Who exactly is the scripture condemning? Maybe we are, maybe we’re not. Then, perhaps in the same chapter, God is calling one to repentance while showing His uttermost mercy for the repentant soul. We then might feel a need (humility/godly sorrow) to come clean or repent. The guilt might continue to linger along with godly sorrow. But to separate the two is a real gift. One in which I’m not sure I have learned how to grasp.

            Personally I don’t think God would want us going around feeling sorry for ourselves or feeling worthless. This is exactly what guilt does: demobilizes us, unmotivates us, separates us (from each other and from God), makes us feel worthless, and often unworthy.

            To feel godly sorrow though is to be truly sorry—not motivated by condemnation, but motivated by the grace and mercy of God. To recognize our faults, dust ourselves off and move on through the Atonement. We might struggle with the same thing for years and wonder how the Atonement applies to us. We often think of the Atonement as one huge event, but it’s a continuous journey (said by an Apostle). If we can grasp this concept, healing miracles can occur in our lives.

         If you could stand face to face with God, what do you think you might ask him about how He feels about you? What do you think His answers would be? Would they be a reflection of what you think about yourself? Do you think He would speak in an all-powerful voice going on announcing all your misdeeds? No. I don’t think he would. I think He would be the most loving man you have ever spoke with. I think he would define your value more beautifully than you could imagine. I think he would give you a vision of how you should already be viewing yourself. And if you could do that, you would truly be motivated by His love. Your guilt would melt away and you could embrace the power of godly sorrow through love.