Regret

Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret... (2 Cor. 7:10)

Regret. Regretful. Filled with regret. Burdened by regret. Those are not pleasant words or phrases, but they describe a fact of many people’s lives. Forbes magazine took a shot at describing the 25 Biggest Regrets in Life. It may be instructive to consider a list like this, but sometimes it is other “smaller” regrets that eat away at us.

Like so many negative and painful attitudes and thoughts, regret is often a knee-jerk response. We see the result of some action or inaction, and suddenly we are seized with regret. “Why did I…?” “Why didn’t I…?” This reflex probably can’t be helped, but the real damage comes as we replay these thoughts...again...and again.

As insistent as these thoughts may be, we must understand they will be thoroughly draining and unproductive. Regret just compounds the angst we feel over what we are regretting. Regret almost always is a waste. Regret can serve us, but only when we learn from what we did or did not do and decide to move forward, focusing on thoughts and actions that will bring no regret.