“Even If I caused you sorrow by my letter, I do not regret it. Though I did regret it–I see that my letter hurt you, but only for a little while–yet now I am happy, not because you were made sorry, but because your sorrow led you to repentance. For you became sorrowful as God intended and so were not harmed in any way by us. Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret, but worldly sorrow brings death.” (2 Corinthians 7:8-10 NIV)
For all the blog posts, articles, and scripture references that have been used to encourage obedience, ignite repentance, and inspire desire to please God–we should all be thankful.
Why should we be thankful when people hurt our feelings–according to The Word? Because sometimes, we are so caught up in doing what we want to do–those things that please flesh–we forget that the desire of a Christian should be to please God and that means–when we get off track, someone has to be courageous enough to remind us of truth–even if it hurts–for a moment.
Let’s face it–no one who thinks they know how to cook appreciates being told their food is lousy. No one who thinks they know how to write appreciates being told their writing stinks. And no one–especially women–likes being told that what they’re wearing is not flattering, when they think it is.
Encouraging people to live according The Word to please God is an arduous task–one not many will undertake because they know truth hurts–even the one speaking truth is often stung by it. But if The Word stings–and hurts and slices and dices our consciences, then The Word is doing its job. Usually–for people who really want to please God–once we get over getting our feelings hurt and own up to what we’ve done or are doing–we repent and get back on track–the path which God had set us upon from the beginning.
When Jesus said, “Do not suppose I came to bring peace to the earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword.” (Matthew 10:34). The sword–God’s Word is a two-edged sword–cutting into our consciences when heard and spoken. Jesus knew that even though He is The Word, He had to speak The Word–to ignite sorrow and repentance.
If we never tell our children what they are doing is wrong, they never have to repent of wrong-doing. However, as children of the most High God, when we read The Word, explication of The Word, or hear The Word, if there is any sin in our lives, our hearts should be pricked (our feelings hurt) and we should repent–once we get over our hurt feelings. Just as most parents love their children enough to correct their behavior, God loves us even more–since He is our heavenly Father.
It’s time to grow up–man-up/woman-up–and take correction as provided in The Word, get over our hurt feelings and repent of all our wrong-doing. When we make a decision to please God, He gives us favor and the desires of our heart.
Over the past few months–there have been a number of articles written about the Supreme Court decision regarding gay marriage. I have written some of them–not to bash people because of their lifestyle, but to slice their consciences with The Word, reminding them what God said–not me and hopefully, leading them to repentance after they got over feelings being hurt.
The role of every Believer is to seek opportunity to share the Good News–though we may have sinned, we have a Savior who loves us enough that He died for us, that we would have opportunity to reign with Him, forever. If we are not willing to repent of our sins, we cannot reign with Him and our destination for all eternity has already been prepared in the lake of fire. My desire is to see everyone I know and even those I don’t know–saved from the lake of fire–and living to please God, not man or flesh. So, if I’ve hurt some feelings along the way, good. If the hurt feelings have led to repentance–even better. For without repentance, we cannot enter into Heaven. 
myBook.to/Normal and myBook.to/TurningForce speaking truth according to The Word, igniting Godly sorrow, leading to repentance!
maryhallrayford 