It's Going to Be Okay

            As we are being bombarded by the prosperity Gospel, sorrow gets overlooked. As the Joel Osteens of the world get all the television time, people get this false sense that everything should be fine and dandy. There is no room for negative emotions!

            I apologize, but that is unbiblical. God gave us the ability to be sad or guilty (or angry, but you really have to be careful with that one) for a reason.

Who Needs a Kick in the Pants? Me!

            If you read 1 Corinthians, you realize that Paul just went off on that church. Corinth was deplorable in terms of morality, and sometimes the Christians were worse than everyone else (1 Corinthians 5:1)! Ouch. So Paul writes a big long disciplinary letter that tells them they need to shape up.

            And you know what? The church in Corinth listened and felt bad. OMG, did I just say that they had a “negative” emotion? I did. Paul writes in his second letter (2 Corinthians):

            “For even if I made you sad by my letter, I do not regret having written it (even though I did regret it, for I see that my letter made you sad, though only for a short time).

            Now I rejoice, not because you were made sad, but because you were made sad to the point of repentance. For you were made sad AS GOD INTENDED, so that you were not harmed in any way by us.

            For sadness as intended by God produces a repentance that leads to salvation, leaving no regret, but worldly sadness brings about death.” (2 Corinthians 7:8-10, NET, emphasis mine)

            There is a room for sadness (or sorrow). Does it produce a change? Is it productive? Does it make you a better person? Does it not last long?

So You’ve Had a Bad Day

            Then there are times when we haven’t done anything wrong, but we still feel sad because of circumstances we can’t control. Just like before, there is room for this sorrow. Solomon writes that there is a time for everything, including weeping (Ecclesiastes 3:4).

            Jesus felt sad sometimes. He got angry, too. He had all the human emotions, including the supposedly "bad" ones. It’s safe to say sadness inflicted by circumstances isn’t wrong, either.

Evaluation Time

            So the next time you feel sad, don’t feel guilty for it. Despite what some Christians say, we are human and we do bad things while bad things happen to us.

            However, you do need to evaluate why you are feeling sad. Is it unproductive? Is it changing you for the worse? Is it lasting too long?

            If the answer is “yes” to any of those questions, you need to leave the sorrow behind because it’s very harmful to you and those around you. But if the answer is “no”, then it’s alright. You’ll feel better soon!