Articles
The Torment of Regret
Jesus talked a great deal about the eternal fates of mankind: both the good and the bad. In Luke 16, as he told the story of two men—one in heaven and the other in torment—he gave the impression that those in torment suffer from a peculiar kind of clarity regarding life on earth. The rich man in that story requested: “I beg you, father, to send him to my father's house—for I have five brothers—so that he may warn them, lest they also come into this place of torment.” (Luke 16:27-28) He knew truly who was to blame for his bleak status, and he knew exactly how bad it would be for his brothers were they to come there too.
One preacher recently said to me, "I think a big part of hell will be just the burden of KNOWING what you did wrong and what you missed out on.” The torment of regret probably rings a faintly familiar tone for many of us.
How many times have you laid awake at night regretting something you did that you should have known better? How often have you found yourself trying to quell a stomach that churns with regret? Do you ever catch yourself sighing out loud as a regret-filled memory flits through your mind?
If we understand those feelings on that level, can we even imagine how deep the pain of regret will be where the punishment is so severe and when we have eternity to ponder it? Let’s make a determination to live every day with no need for shame about the way that we have walked with God. Believe in his forgiveness, live with integrity, and be free from the fear of death and hell’s regret-filled darkness.
