2Co7

Worldly grief produces only regret, and ultimately, death. Godly sorrow leads to repentance and true life! Whenever we sin, we feel the conviction of that sin. If we turn from our sin to God, the conviction we feel leads to life. If we continue in sin, it will only produce greater and greater sin and regret, which ends in death.

I am amazed at the lack of conviction that some "believers" feel over their sin. Not amazed, shocked! Literally blown away! They seem to not have any conviction at all. Their behaviors goes from bad to worse without any evidence of sorrow or regret. They continue to lie and deceive and abandon everything they know to be right and true. They blame others as if they are the problem and rarely, if ever, realize the problem is with them. Do you know people like this? Are you one of them?

Integrity in life requires that we "live one life". It demands that we are the same in every context. Use the same vocabulary, do the same things, wear the same clothing, have the same friends, etc. Whenever someone finds themselves having to maintain two lives, they have stopped listening to God.

My prayer is that "godly grief" in our lives today will bring repentance. Where there is no repentance, there is no authentic faith.