Guilt Is for Mean Sheep

I wish I could express how tired I am of people requiring guilt to be part of repentance. Guilt is good for one thing and one thing only: a way to identify what it is you're doing wrong. Repentance is simply turning away from sin...i.e. changing your behavior to something more conducive to one's goals.

When you repeatedly stub the same toe on the same coffee table leg when you go through the living room, do you really have to feel guilty to stop doing it? No? You identify a problem with what you're doing and you choose to stop doing it because it doesn't serve you!

We are required to feel guilty by social organizations who find it necessary to punish the wrong-doers. But who are we to want to punish? Who are we to punish? Who are we to punish ourselves? We simply adapt our actions to what will get us what we want and need.

Yes, it is that simple. Painless? No. Repentance is change. Change is often painful. So do we really need to induce more pain before we remove its source?