Godly Sorrow

Paul was happy to see Titus again, not only because they were good friends, but also because he was worried about church members in Corinth. Paul had written them a stern letter, and Titus had delivered it. Paul was worried that these people he loved so much would be hurt by his words. “Out of much affliction and anguish of heart I wrote unto you with many tears,” he said, “not that ye should be grieved, but that ye might know the love which I have more abundantly unto you” (2 Corinthians 2:4).

He must have felt like the prophet Jacob, who also felt duty-bound to deliver a difficult message to his people, and who feared that his message would feel like “daggers placed to pierce their souls and wound their delicate minds” (Jacob 2:9).

Paul couldn’t rest. He traveled to Troas, but Titus wasn’t there, so he went on to Macedonia. (See 2 Corinthians 2:12-13.) When Titus finally arrived, Paul was overjoyed to learn that the Corinthians had responded positively to his message. In his next letter, he shared his feelings of relief:

Though I made you sorry with a letter, I do not repent, though I did repent: for I perceive that the same epistle hath made you sorry, though it were but for a season.

Now I rejoice, not that ye were made sorry, but that ye sorrowed to repentance: for ye were made sorry after a godly manner, that ye might receive damage by us in nothing.

2 Corinthians 7:8-9

Then, he taught them an important principle:

For godly sorrow worketh repentance to salvation not to be repented of: but the sorrow of the world worketh death.

2 Corinthians 7:10

There are two kinds of sorrow, one productive and the other destructive. What’s the difference between them? One motivates us to repent and do better, the other drags us down.

Here’s how Paul described the actions of the Corinthians which indicated that the sorrow they felt was godly, not worldly:

What carefulness it wrought in you, yea, what clearing of yourselves, yea, what indignation, yea, what fear, yea, what vehement desire, yea, what zeal, yea, what revenge! In all things ye have approved yourselves to be clear in this matter.

2 Corinthians 7:11

Such an interesting list of effects of their sadness! Taken together, the list conveys a sense of urgency and resiliency: a strong desire to address the issues and do better. But some of the individual items on the list may be confusing. Is revenge a good thing? Indignation? And what does “clearing of yourselves” mean?

Here is that list in the original Greek, with some alternate translations to help understand Paul’s meaning better:

Greek word	King James	Alternate word
spoudé (σπουδή)	carefulness	earnestness
apologia (ἀπολογία)	clearing of yourselves	thoughtful reply
aganaktésis (ἀγανάκτησις)	indignation	discontent
phobos (φόβος)	fear	alarm
epipothésis (ἐπιπόθησις)	vehement desire	longing
zelos (ζῆλος)	zeal	enthusiasm
ekdikésis (ἐκδίκησις)	revenge	desire for justice and righteousness

When Mormon’s people experienced some setbacks, he hoped that they would be motivated to change, but as he observed their actions, he concluded that they were not experiencing godly sorrow:

When I, Mormon, saw their lamentation and their mourning and their sorrow before the Lord, my heart did begin to rejoice within me, knowing the mercies and the long-suffering of the Lord, therefore supposing that he would be merciful unto them that they would again become a righteous people.

But behold this my joy was vain, for their sorrowing was not unto repentance, because of the goodness of God; but it was rather the sorrowing of the damned, because the Lord would not always suffer them to take happiness in sin.

Mormon 2:12-13

So how can we tell the difference between godly and worldly sorrow in our own hearts? Godly sorrow looks to the future with hope, motivating us to act. Worldly sorrow looks to the past and wallows in despair.

As Sister Michelle D. Craig taught:

We should welcome feelings of divine discontent that call us to a higher way, while recognizing and avoiding Satan’s counterfeit—paralyzing discouragement. This is a precious space into which Satan is all too eager to jump. We can choose to walk the higher path that leads us to seek for God and His peace and grace, or we can listen to Satan, who bombards us with messages that we will never be enough: rich enough, smart enough, beautiful enough, anything enough. Our discontent can become divine—or destructive.

“Divine Discontent,” General Conference, October 2018

Today, I will welcome godly sorrow and let go of worldly sorrow. I will be grateful for experiences which motivate me to do better and be better. I will avoid letting negative experiences drag me down, pull me away from God, and slow my progress.