So we must ask ourselves: Are we more interested in feelings or facts?
No one likes feeling bad, ashamed, responsible, or vulnerable, but sometimes we're all of those things.
God expects us to repent even if we were only 10% wrong and the other person is 90%. That's because repentance maintains a healthy relationship with the Lord and restores our confidence and hope.
God says "I live in a high and holy place, but I also live with people who are humble and repentant, so that I can restore their confidence and hope." Isaiah 57:15,GNT
The non-repentant feel "happier" only because they're self-deceived.
Genuine repentance refreshes, restores, and changes us. It brings Christ-lovers factual happiness and joy.
Some good thoughts on repentance: Thoughts on Jesus' Demand to Repent
Bible Study:
Scripture contains a great deal of information about repentance. The following verses capture a few aspects of the meaning and benefits of repentance: God is close to those who genuinely repent:
Isaiah 57:15: For this is what the high and exalted One says-- he who lives forever, whose name is holy: "I live in a high and holy place, but also with the one who is contrite and lowly in spirit, to revive the spirit of the lowly and to revive the heart of the contrite."
God wants us to feel ashamed of our sins:
James 4:6-10: “God opposes the proud but shows favor to the humble.” 7 Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. 8 Come near to God and he will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. 9 Grieve, mourn and wail. Change your laughter to mourning and your joy to gloom. 10 Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up.
We are supposed to confess our sins to God and to others - those we offend and those who keep us accountable.
James 5:16: Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.
We're not supposed to make people feel good about their sins nor are we to avoid confronting them:
Luke 17:3: So watch yourselves. "If your brother or sister sins against you, rebuke them; and if they repent, forgive them."
Repentance is more than mere words:
"Two things show us that repentance is an internal change of mind and heart rather than mere sorrow for sin or mere improvement of behavior. First, the meaning of the Greek word behind the English 'repent' (metanoeo) points in this direction. It has two parts: meta and noeo. The second part (noeo) refers to the mind and its thoughts and perceptions and dispositions and purposes. The first part (meta) is a prefix that regularly means movement or change. So the basic meaning of repent is to experience a change of the mind’s perceptions and dispositions and purposes." John Piper
For more: Thoughts on Jesus' Demand to Repent
5 Reasons Why Some People Never Apologize
People Who Never Apologize Are Probably Happier Than You
copyright, Gail Burton Purath, 2015, BiteSizeBibleStudy.com
All Scripture NIV unless otherwise noted
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