Shallow “repentance”

Years ago comedian Red Skelton was on an airplane that develop engine trouble over the Alps. He tried to cheer people with jokes. Finally, the aircraft was nursed to an emergency landing. “Now you can all go back to the sin you turned from a few minutes ago,” Skelton reportedly quipped to his fellow passengers. Shallow “repentance” is really regret, especially over possible consequences. Godly repentance is, as they say in the military, an “about face,” a turn away from sin to God. It comes when our hearts are broken over our sin rather than merely anxious about the outcome.