Beyond Remorse

Beyond Remorse: The Shechaniah Action 

Ezra 10:1-3 NKJV

[1] Now while Ezra was praying, and while he was confessing, weeping, and bowing down before the house of God, a very large assembly of men, women, and children gathered to him from Israel; for the people wept very bitterly. [2] And Shechaniah the son of Jehiel, one of the sons of Elam, spoke up and said to Ezra, “We have trespassed against our God, and have taken pagan wives from the peoples of the land; yet now there is hope in Israel in spite of this. [3] Now therefore, let us make a covenant with our God to put away all these wives and those who have been born to them, according to the advice of my master and of those who tremble at the commandment of our God; and let it be done according to the law. 

      It is one thing to feel a sense of remorse at sin. Its a different thing to do something about it. We had a struggle whether to use the concept as regrets or remorse. My Ai did a good job. " Regret and remorse are similar emotions involving unhappiness about past actions, but they differ in their focus. Regret is primarily focused on a personal loss or disappointment, while remorse is centered on the harm caused to others. Regret can stem from a mistake, a bad decision, or simply a feeling that things could have been better, often leading to self-pity. Remorse, on the other hand, involves a deeper sense of guilt and a desire to make amends for the harm one has caused, often reflecting a moral compass that feels violated". If we feel regrets or remorse without doing something about it, there's a tendency to go back into it. Shechaniah was not going to keep quiet about it. So he addressed the people. 

    Prayer is good, but it must lead us to action to solve the problem. Here's an attempt to define the depth of the problem by a writer at INSPIRITEncourage. " Some regrets are missed experiences, like one who never married but always wanted a family - children and grandchildren. Some regrets are decisions. Decisions that we regret may have simply been the least bad option at the time that have now progressed beyond imagination (and out of control – which they always were out of our control). Other regretful decisions may have been blatantly made against God’s guidance. When we have a regret over decisions taken against God’s guidance, we wronged our God and need to ask forgiveness. The others are not sins, but weights of disappointment that we need help bearing. He will bear these weights with us when we ask (Matt 11:28-30)". We could go on.

    God desires a sorrow which produces "a repentance without regret, leading to salvation" (2 Cor. 7:10). Shechaniah was not going to take on only regrets. Join us tomorrow as we complete this segment. Good morning.