Worldly sorrow or godly sorrow?

If you’ve lived long enough, you’ve had unpleasant interpersonal experiences—either as instigator, victim or bystander. In 2 Corinthians 7:10, the apostle contrasts godly grief which leads to repentance, and worldly grief which leads to death. What indicators can you look for to determine which is which?

Remorse	Repentance
Short-lived	Long-term
Involves emotions	Involves emotions and will
Distressed by the consequences	Distraught by their actions
Makes vague resolutions	Makes specific restitution
Wants public attention	Humbly accepts obscurity
Desires immediate return to positions of ministry/authority	Recognises the need to rebuild trust over time
Makes external displays of contrition	Displays internal development and change
Finds fault in how he/she is treated in the process of discipline	Exhibits submission to the humbling process of discipline
Hesitates to follow counsel in relation to reconciliation/restitution	Initiates action toward restoring broken relationships and making restitution

From a slightly longer post on Counseling One Another.

See also When “I’m sorry, I messed up” isn’t enough.

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