Good Grief

Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret, but worldly sorrow brings death. - 2 Corinthians 7:10

If you can decode the religious language Paul talks about, he’s trying to unpack grief and lament. Sometimes it’s healthy - it actually frees us. Sometimes it’s unhealthy - it actually burdens us. Let’s listen in to this great insight to further tease out the distinction:

There are two kinds of pain: Clean pain and dirty pain. Clean pain is pain that mends and can build your capacity for growth. It’s the pain you feel when you know what to say or do; when you really, really don’t want to say or do it; and when you do it anyway, responding from the best part of yourself. It’s also the pain you experience when you have no idea what to do; when you’re scared or worried about what might happen and when you step forward into the unknown anyway, with honesty and vulnerability.

Dirty pain is the pain of avoidance, blame, or denial. When people respond from their most wounded parts, become cruel or violent, or physically or emotionally run away, they experience dirty pain. They also create more of it for themselves and others.”

- Resmaa Menakem, My Grandmother’s Hands

Take a look at some of your pain that you are carrying today. Is it dirty or clean? Or, in Paul’s language, does it lead to life or death? Talk with God about what you are seeing inside of you as you reflect on these things.