Regrets

We all have regrets.

Every so often I think of something I did or said at some time in the past, and I cringe. It pains me to think about it, so I try not to. The more I think about a regret, the more it eats at me, and if I dwelt too long on it, it would cause me anguish.

Still, I can’t stop them popping them into my head from time to time. I can tell you, I’ve said and done some really stupid things in my lifetime. But let’s not get into specifics.

One choice I do not regret is getting to know God. That has been the best move I’ve ever made, and every day I’m glad that I chose to do that. But that’s not something most people want me to bang on about…because they’ve chosen not to get to know God. I suspect my joy at knowing God may play badly into their deep-seated worry that they may regret their own choice not to.

It does worry me that so many people I know have chosen not to know God. I’m sure it’s a decision they will eventually regret. And they’ll have a long time to regret it, and nothing to distract them from that regret, with no rationalisations to wallpaper over it. The anguish factor will just grow and grow, with nothing to ease the torment.

I wonder if that’s what Jesus Christ was describing when he spoke of a plight in which there was much “weeping and gnashing of teeth”: sheer excruciating regret at one’s own choices. If that were a never-ending experience, it would be, quite literally, hell.