SORROW OVER SIN

James 4:9 Let there be tears for the wrong things you have done. Let there be sorrow and deep grief. Let there be sadness instead of laughter, and gloom instead of joy.

When was the last time you actually shed tears over the sins you have committed? Be honest with yourself. When was the last time your heart was truly broken because you know you had sinned against God? It seems to me that a heart heavy with sorrow, grief and shame because of sin is a good thing. There should be times in which we are broken before God because of sin. If we truly believe that we as believers sin against God, it seems to me that there should be times in which those sins crush our hearts. We should be like King David when he wrote Psalm 51. We should be broken in heart and seek God’s forgiveness. There are times in which shedding tears is necessary for the child of God. If we truly love the Lord, our hearts will be broken when we sin against Him.

There are also times in which we should shed tears over the sins of others. Compassion should drive us to our knees when those we know sin against God. We should daily be praying for those whom we know are living in sin. Grief and sorrow should grip our souls for those whose souls are in jeopardy. Sadly, we aren’t driven to our knees very often over the sins of others. We aren’t moved to plead with the Lord to move upon their hearts to convict them of sin. We seldom spend much time pouring out our souls before the Lord on behalf of others. How can we expect anything to change in their hearts if we aren’t praying for them?

There is much emphasis placed on that which excites and entertains us these days. We stress our happiness and seldom stress our need for sorrow. We seldom are challenged to be driven to our knees in grief and sorrow over sin. It should not surprise us that there is very little life-changing going on amongst us. We reap what we sow. Where there is no vision for the devastating effect of sin on our lives, we will all perish.