Repentance—More Than a Word

We hear words over and over. The more they get repeated, the more watered-down they become.

Here is one. Repentance.

Repentance sits down in a church pew and goes unnoticed. After all, what is repentance?

Is it sorrow for a past act? Is it sorrow for the act, or because you got caught and would like to avoid the consequences?

Is it simple regret? I did this and wish I wouldn’t have.

Is it an admission of guilt? I did it, so there!

Yet, all those look backward. The past fires stink up our present life. We want to spray spiritual air freshener and mask the odor.

But that’s not repentance.

The Bible has many images of repentance, meaning “turning your thinking around.” It takes the image of taking off a dirty coat and putting on a clean one. It is a death followed by resurrection.

You hear it in scripture.

Peter preached:

“Repent therefore, and turn back, that your sins may be blotted out,” (Acts 3:19, ESV)

John the Baptist pointed out:

“Bear fruits in keeping with repentance. ” (Luke 3:8, ESV)

We see it on the road to Damascus, in the courtyard as a distant rooster crows, or in the hearts cut by the message of Pentecost.

What happens in repentance?

I had developed a bad habit (or perhaps an addiction) to games on my phone. I would start, thinking I would do 5 minutes. Then, after three hours, I came out of my hypnotic state.

I discovered I did not feel better after playing. Most of the time I felt down and drained. I knew I was wasting precious time.

I vowed to stop many times. But the siren kept singing, and I kept returning.

Last week, I had enough. I was tired of the feeling, the waste of life and time, and the sense of being captured.

So, I did the unthinkable a month ago. I deleted all my games from my phone.

Gone. Nothing.

In the aftermath, I found I had wasted time and life on those games. I felt better and accomplished more. I spent too much of my life on wasted things.

And that is the sense of repentance. I am tired of living the way I do. I take steps to cut off the things that plague me. Stop friendships. Unsubscribe from websites or media channels. Change your route so you do not pass the troublesome places. If you don’t take an axe to the weed, it will never die.

Then, replace them. Do something positive. Read. Write. Call someone. Visit someone. Turn in a different direction.

When you finally get tired of going in the wrong direction, stop. Turn around and go in a different direction. I promise, after a while, you won’t miss the old life.