Repentance (and Regret)
“The way of truth refers to the path of wisdom exemplified in the lives of the sons of God, the saints. Like Judas, the ungodly have a sense of regret but not repentance as they face judgment…” (Orthodox Study Bible, Wisdom of Solomon 5:5-6)
“There are many places in the Bible that give insight into a judgment that will happen before God. We’ve discussed already the Parable of the Talents in Matthew 25:14-30, that man entrusted talents to his servants, and “after a long time, the master of those servants came and settle accounts with them.” (Matthew 25:19) In the Parable, the “master” is God, who entrusts talents (time, ability, opportunity) to each person and at some point, we will have to account to Him for what we did with what He gave us. Even more succinct is Matthew 25:31-46, where we read about the judgment of the nations, when everyone will be gathered before the throne of God and be judged worthy of eternal life. This judgment will be based on six metrics—“I was hungry and you gave Me food; I was thirsty and you gave Me drink; I was a stranger and you welcomed Me; I was naked and you clothed Me; I was sick and you visited Me; I was in prison and you came to Me.”(Matthew 25:35-36) The judgment will be based on what we did, not what we didn’t do, which is a comfort I think. We all have regrets about things we didn’t do or should have done. The judgment will be based on things we did, not things we failed to do.” (Fr. Stavros N. Akrotirianakis)
“Regret is a useful feeling provided it leads to more than just a feeling. In today’s culture which over emphasizes the importance of how we feel versus what we do, we can deceive ourselves that we are a “good person” simply because we feel regret. But this is not truth. Feelings don’t make us good, actions that come from the right heart do. The proper response to regret, and I would argue the salvific response, is regret that leads to the action of repentance, which is a change in behavior, a change in our actions arising out of a changed heart motivated by love for Christ and others, even if we struggle to make that change and continue to struggle until it becomes who we are.” (Sacramental Living Ministries)
“The term "repentance" scares many people because self-reflection has become undesirable, if not irrelevant. Today’s human beings do not want to see their own flaws and shortcomings. They prefer to be praised by everyone, honored in every circumstance. Hiding inside all people are illusions about themselves that they don't want to break. People convince themselves that pride provides psychological comfort, and in their stubbornness, they believe in their own goodness and that they don't make mistakes. ….many wrongly believe that repentance means regret, sorrow, and sadness in their quest for joy and happiness. Why would they then accept something that spoils their happiness? Why would they demand more burdens for themselves? Repentance, in their minds, is associated with misconceptions influenced by distorted upbringings, plus erroneous teachings and spirituality that…knows a form of repentance that is distorted, exaggerated and rigid….repentance signifies a new birth, a spiritual cleansing from within. It is a continuous self-correction, a perpetual awareness of not persisting in sin and error, a continuous rise from every fall, and a constant striving to what is better. It is a state of yearning not to be distanced from God, our beloved.” (Metropolitan Saba Isper)
“The fact is that repentance is not only the awareness of your sins, but also the desire and opportunity to change, to be cleansed from them, to be spiritually transformed. Transformation is possible only by the movement of the human will and the work of grace, and “the time and place for the action of grace is here alone…” (Valentina Ulyanova)
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