Regrets

Thursday, Sept. 4

“Regret is an appalling waste of energy.”—Katherine Mansfield. This is a catchy little statement, but I don’t agree with it. Regret is kin to guilt. If I regret something, I need to take some kind of action that will keep me from doing what caused the regret. Maybe I need to confess a sin. Maybe I need to make restitution. Maybe I need to change my life style. Regret is just as useful as pain. We don’t like pain, but it makes us get at the cause of the pain and seek a remedy. Regret should do the same thing in our spiritual lives. I will say, however, that wallowing in regret over a period of time is indeed a waste of energy. It’s more than that; it’s not getting at the problem at all. Without fixing the problem, the regret (guilt) remains forever, even if we succeed in forgetting it. Just as we deal with pain as soon as possible, so we need to get at the source of regret (guilt) as soon as possible. When it’s dealt with properly, let it go. It’s history. The debt is paid.