everybody what is going on you know what time it is you're listening to join the journey podcast

with your host emma daughter thanks for joining have you ever wondered if paul regretted

writing to the corinthians in the way he did he was pretty bold in calling them out was he scared

of hard conversations doesn't seem like it. Today, we're talking about

something really important. How do we respond to correction? What's the difference between

godly grief and worldly grief? Specifically, we'll be focusing on these ideas as we zoom in on

chapter 7 versus 8 through 13. But let me set up the context for you. Paul is apologizing for any negative

feelings his previous letter might have evoked in the hearts of the Corinthians. As we talked

about in the second Corinthians bonus episode, we aren't totally sure what this letter exactly is or was,

but we do know Paul had previously been grieved by the Corinthians' behavior and had been pretty firm with them.

He called them higher.

In verse 8, Paul says he temporarily regretted sending that previous letter because he could see he pierced the Corinthians a little.

It was sharp.

But now, he's saying he doesn't regret it because, well, the sorrow of the Corinthians led to their repentance, he says.

Paul's goal was never to hurt the Corinthians or kick them while they were down.

He wanted to see them rise to the occasion.

He wanted them to really return to God's best for their lives and really return to the church,

or the church as God intended it to be.

But Paul wasn't in the business of passing out compliments for the sake of making everybody

feel good. He didn't go around handing out church participation trophies. He understood part of his

role as an apostle meant having hard conversations, but he did so with grace. If you're

anything like me, hard conversations can be easy to dread. Maybe you need to have a hard

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