“Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.”—Jesus, Sermon on the Mount

“Most of us treat ourselves badly. Intensely critical of our failings, we punish ourselves…; [m]ourning
seems to be the last thing we come to. After we have worried, beaten ourselves up, heaped high inner
abuse and kicked ourselves… what is left? Sadness is the appropriate response to looking our poor,
miserable selves square in the eye, denying nothing yet refusing to condemn. Sadness is the sign that
we are giving up on trying to atone for our sin. Sadness is the beginning of mercy.”—Mike Mason,
Practicing the Presence of People

We may be tempted to treat sadness as a disease; any sort of melancholy is as unwelcome as a bout
with the flu. It is a social faux pas to answer the greeting, “How are you?” with anything other than
“Fine!”

The Bible, on the other hand, allows for a more wide-ranging expression of emotions, including sadness.
The most frequent type of Psalm was the lament; Jesus positively expects his disciples to be sad (see the
blessing he pronounces on sadness in his most famous sermon). The promises of God give us reason for
joy too, but an honest look at ourselves, marred by sin, and the world, filled with brokenness warrants
sadness in response.

I am not talking about the natural temperaments of our personality. Some of us are by nature optimistic
or melancholy, and we can stumble into excess toward either one (or both, e.g. manic-depressive
disorder), possibly indicating the need to seek help. What I am talking about is the faith-informed,
thoughtful response to the condition of our souls and the world in light of Jesus’ work to redeem us. If
we take our sin seriously, we must either be punished for it or escape that punishment through God’s
forgiveness. What we often try to do is do both: we beat ourselves up emotionally in order to make
ourselves fit for forgiveness.

However, if it is indeed true that forgiveness is offered freely because of Jesus, then there is no need to
heap on ourselves some form of abuse in order to feel worthy. Free forgiveness does not, however,
change the character of sin; it is still ugly rebellion against the God who loves us. There is no way to be
happy about the sin that remains in our lives. In fact, the only way to respond to it is sadness knowing
that God’s gracious forgiveness is what will comfort us as we mourn. It really is just as Jesus said:
“Blessed are those who mourn for they shall be comforted.”