2 Corinthians 7:10 For godly grief produces a repentance that leads to salvation without regret, whereas worldly grief produces death.
Paul makes his point from vv. 8-9 clearer in this verse. There are two types of grief. Godly grief leads to salvation. God disciplines us so that we can see the danger of the way we are living. Discipline is often experienced as grief and sorrow. No one likes to be disciplined because it forces us to confess that we are wrong, which fundamentally goes against our selfish nature. God always disciplines out of love. The purpose of God’s love is to draw us in to relationship.
The other type of grief comes from the world and brings death. This is the regret one gets when one does not follow God’s way. It is a sad thing to come to the end of life and have regrets because of bad decisions and sins. We all have regrets from our past. No one has perfect wisdom and makes the right decisions every time. Even if the decision is right, it may affect us or others in a negative way or bring pain and sorry. Life is full of regrets. The type of sorrow to which Paul refers here is the sorrow resourced from the world. The source of this grief is the world and its paradigm of sin and self. The world gives false promises that bring only temporary peace and happiness but end up in sorrow and pain. God’s promises are sure and eternal, even though we may experience pain and sorrow in this life. The difference is the final outcome. As people of hope, we can be assured that the trials we face in this life will ultimately lead to our salvation.
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