Repentance – insult or compliment?

When I read the Old Testament I saw numerous occasions where ancient prophets called on the House of Israel to repent. In my mind’s eye and with an imagination enriched by much reading, I see the picture of Moses holding up the tablets of stone. Generally, from what I read, the aristocracy of the House of Israel and the elitists of that particular society, took extreme exception to being told that they were wicked and needed to repent. Many if not all of these prophets were persecuted and some of them slain.

Even when Jesus came to Israel as a mortal he commanded the society of his time to repent. The society of his time was outwardly cloaked in strict observance of the Law of Moses. The clergy became his bitter enemy and constantly plotted his murder.

Subsequently after the crucifixion and resurrection of Christ, his disciples took his gospel message to all the known world. The call for repentance was universally issued where some repented but most rejected the call to repentance.

Why do some people become so aggressive when called to repent? In my mind the primary reason is that change in lifestyle is uncomfortable. What makes it more difficult is when you are part of a nation (such as Israel of the Old Testament times) where a code of conduct has been imposed upon the whole nation. Strict penalties against disobedience have been put in place and now centuries later, their descendants are expected to be diligent in conformity. Embarrassment at being singled out as being a wicked person or part of a class of society who are all condemned as being wicked. This could certainly cause agitation and anger in the community.

What makes it even worse for a ruler is when threats against him (or her) and his nation are foretold. In the mind of such a ruler, it could easily be viewed as treasonous speech. Such speech by these harbingers of doom, could make their community despondent, or depressed. It could demoralise their armies at a critical time when facing other enemy nations who are looking for any excuse or pretense to invade their nation. These prophets may even be allied with the enemy. To be an example of a strong leader, and to demonstrate it to any possible political rivals, these unpopular prophets must be dealt with in an expedient manner.

One just has to look at our own society today where the propaganda war between the West and Russia have reached crisis levels. Accusations of making “fake news” to deceive the populace for the advantage of evil Russian plans are flying everywhere, CNN was constantly pointing out how the Democratic Party was the victim of the cunning Russians. Times of today seem similar to the days of McCarthy when there was a communist behind every bush.

I think too of both the World Wars, when propaganda and spies were prominent in the consciousness of the combating nations. The civilians had to be alert and report anything that may favour the enemy.

When I was a youngster and attending church the one Sunday, a man stood up sobbing and told the whole congregation of his sexual misbehaviour. I was horrified. I thought if this is repentance I want none of it!

Quite a few years later, a man that I really admired (because he was a great table tennis player) gave a sermon where he spoke about how wonderful repentance was, what a great blessing it was. He also said how he loved to repent all the time. It gave me serious cause for reflection; this was completely opposite to what I felt or understood.
I decided to analyse the word “Repent”, no, not just the dictionary definition which I did understand, but rather the ramifications of the word. What was the intent? It may be obvious to you, the reader, but it wasn’t to me. I had grown up in the faith of my parents and it was a case of “monkey see, monkey do” and because we were hooligans as boys, my Dad administered correction with a belt and a strong arm. As I did not like having a sore backside I tended to obey rather than having to feel.

I had heard a lot about repentance being a 180 degree change in direction, fair enough but it never really impressed me as a concept at the time.

I liked to consider myself an intelligently lazy person; if I could learn from the experiences of others and avoid their mistakes in life, I would have an advantage in life. Then I heard a story that impressed me greatly. This is the story:
A group of people were hiking up a mountain. In their group was a young man of considerable energy. He would go to the front and go to the back of the group with ease. He would always be the first to the resting spot by a considerable margin. He was quite cheeky in telling everyone else to pick up the pace. While everyone was catching their breath, he would leave his kitbag with the group and go exploring the surrounding area. This really was irritating to the group. The one group member had an idea, when the youngster was off exploring, they put a rock in his backpack and closed it before he got back. The hike continued. The young man started to slow down and walk with the group. Later he was struggling at the back of the group. The group then started to leave him behind. The youngster could not understand it, how were they doing so well and why was he struggling so? In pity they decided to show him the rock in his backpack. He was very annoyed but when he calmed down he saw the funny side of it. Soon he was zooming around as usual.
The point of this story is to compare the rock to sin. It is an unnecessary burden; it slowed the young man down. Repentance is like taking the rock out of your backpack, it makes the journey up the mountain so much easier. We all have to carry backpacks up the mountain of life’s journey, backpacks carry enough of our weaknesses in them, let’s not increase the load with unnecessary sin.

I really liked this analogy, it made sense to me. Why should I carry the sin of uncontrolled temper? Not only will I avoid the danger of unintended consequences, but I will be able to build safe relationships where those around me will not have to fear me.

As I have grown older in life, I have realised that a person who cannot repent or change certain aspects of their behaviour, is a being trapped at a certain level and not able to improve. A person who does not repent is a person who does not learn and does not grow. As beings we have to constantly evolve, discarding damaging aspects and learning to take on new aspects that will improve us. Time never stands still and the only difference between a rut and a grave is the depth.

Of course, the most remarkable beings are those who can look at themselves with clarity. Who can see their own weaknesses and act upon their own understanding. People who can “pull themselves up by their own bootstraps”. There are some men and women like this and I really admire such.

So when a friend, or a family member, or even a stranger, points out some undesirable trait that we may have, let us have the courage to be honest and carefully consider what they are saying. It can take a great deal of courage to tell another person about a flaw (there are those who are only too willing to do this but they will probably have few friends). It can be painful to see our weaknesses through the eyes of another person. Do we have the humility, courage and strength to change?

Only you can decide.