Do You Ever Truly Mourn?
Jun 20th, 2008 by Nathan White
In Matthew 5:3 Jesus says:
“Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.”
Recently, while reading through the minor prophets in the Old Testament, the subject of mourning has intrigued me –for mourning was certainly a common thing in Old Testament Israel. But not only is it common in Old Testament Judaism, it’s also mentioned here by Jesus in the New Testament, and a great blessing is pronounced on the one who mourns. So what is the deal with mourning?
First off, doesn’t there seem to be some sort of stigma in today’s Christian circles when it comes to mourning? We New Testament, American Christians just seem to have trouble with it (excluding, of course, when people mourn over the loss of their outward comforts). We’re supposed to have joy, remember? We’re supposed to be excited for what the Lord has done, right? So goes popular opinion, it seems.
But in a society which mourns very little (for it would ruin the insatiable pursuit of pleasure and revelry), we Christians have sort of adapted to our surroundings. Mourning just isn’t popular; it certainly doesn’t win friends, influence people, and pack out auditoriums. Instead, we’re constantly being told to ‘show unbelievers how happy Jesus has made us‘, and to put on a smile in all circumstances, as if this will cause others to see something different in us. I just don’t get that, from a biblical sense; and I don’t even get it from a logical sense. For anyone with a brain can see right through this kind of facade, which ends up doing even worse damage to the Christian banner. Jesus our Lord and perfect example certainly didn’t put on or teach this type of deception; He was said to be ‘a man of sorrows, acquainted with grief’. We don’t even have a record of Him laughing at all!
It should be clear that it isn’t thought of much in our culture, so what exactly am I trying to get at? What does exactly does it mean to mourn? Well first, it should be obvious that simple tears does not fully capture the idea of mourning. Mourning is much deeper than that; true mourning is when the heart breaks in anguish, with intense sorrow. It isn’t simply shedding tears; it’s anguish of the soul, and an attitude of the heart that will affect how we live.
Consider just two passages with me:
Amos 6:5-6
“Woe to those who lie on beds of ivory
and stretch themselves out on their couches,
and eat lambs from the flock
and calves from the midst of the stall,
who sing idle songs to the sound of the harp
and like David invent for themselves instruments of music,
who drink wine in bowls
and anoint themselves with the finest oils,
but are not grieved over the ruin of Joseph!
I was struck with conviction upon reading this portion of scripture. O how we live as if the Church was not headed for ruin! O how we act as if we can pamper ourselves, entertain ourselves, and live a life of ease while the Truth lies fallen in the street! Is it not so, in this plentiful land, where we have the easiest lives in all of human history? Our conduct clearly communicates that all is perfectly well in the land, and in the Church! Don’t actions speak louder than words?
Consider as well:
Daniel 10:2-3 “In those days I, Daniel, was mourning for three weeks. I ate no delicacies, no meat or wine entered my mouth, nor did I anoint myself at all, for the full three weeks.”
Daniel truly mourned. He mourned over his sin. He mourned over the sins of the people. He mourned over the pagan land. And he didn’t pamper himself when his heart was truly broken over it all.
I must confess: I don’t mourn like Daniel. No doubt about it, my sin and the sins of my surroundings are lamented over on a regular basis. But do I really mourn? Do you really mourn? When we rise from our knees, where we just spent a time of mourning over all the wickedness of our hearts and of this land, what do we then do? Go and fill ourselves at the dinner table? Fill our hearts and time with glad songs, distractions, amusements, entertainments, as if all were well?
Sometimes I am broken to nothing, and even though I might pour out my soul to God in private, O how you couldn’t tell from my lifestyle that I really cared one bit. What shame! Is it not true of you as well?
When we truly mourn, we will truly walk with brokenness in all walks of life –all while pouring our hearts out to our only help and refuge: the Lord Jesus Christ, who sympathizes with our weaknesses, having Himself been one acquainted with sorrow and grief.
So if you mourn, mourn with sincerity, in truthfulness, as if your cause for mourning was more than just a passing thought. Jesus Himself blesses you, and promises you comfort in His graces…
Nathan,
I understand your point but I think that you missed the point of the passage in Matthew: From what I see it’s a description of mourning over sin, part of a description of a Christian…
I may be wrong; but that’s the way it seems to me.
Now, having said that…I don’t think you are off the mark on your point…just using this passage for support is all.
God bless,
bob
Bob,
But that’s like saying, “deny yourself, take up your cross and follow Christ” is technically a reference to the stipulations of salvation, so it really doesn’t apply to the Christian life.
I guess what I’m saying is, I don’t make a huge dichotomy between sanctification and salvation. Maybe I’m in error for that.
Davide,
All i was saying was that this entire passage is not speaking about mourning in general but it’s specific to a general thought being presented:
It’s describing the personal attributes of one who is a Christian. I believe It also involves a bit of Hebrew Parallelism:
The ideas are grouped in “twos” with one shedding light on the other…
…the poor in spirit:
…the meek:
they that mourn
those who hunger and thirst for righteousness:
the merciful:
the pure in heart:
the peacemakers:
those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake/pursue righteousness:
Taken as “groups of two” then Jesus is speaking about 4 principles of the proper attitude of a Christian…
that’s all I was saying…mourning was “mourning over sin” not mourning in general…
bob
Davide,
Can I address your comment about Sanctification vs Salvation?
Aren’t they two distinct things? Separate?
Salvation is something that happens to a “non-believer” that turns him into a believer…he is “saved from something.”
Sanctification is the ongoing process that “believers” go through…the growing in holiness.
Non believers cannot “grow in holiness” because they are unable to please God right?
Just my thoughts….
bob
Hey Bob–
I can’t really say that I disagree with what you said about mourning. However, I obviously wasn’t talking about mourning over just anything (like the loss of temporal comforts, etc.). But even with your specific interpretation of Matt 5 I don’t see how it effects my argument one way or the other –unless you narrow ‘mourning’ down to nothing but mourning over personal sin alone, and I cannot see how you would justify that from the text.
In other words, we know Jesus mourned; we know Jesus wept over the death of Lazarus. But of course He didn’t weep over the physical death because He knew He would raise him up. I would say that He wept over sin, wept over the curse of sin, the sorrow of sinners over death, etc.
In the same way, from the Matt 5 passage, I certainly see how it would entail several different types of mourning: mourning over personal sin being probably the most common, but also mourning over the sins of our family, friends, society, humanity; as well as mourning over the effect of sin: death, destruction, anguish, despair, etc.
Nevertheless, my point was whether we mourn over our own sin or whether we mourn over the sins of others, we just don’t seem to be very sincere in it compared to what we see in scripture. And that convicts me…
Thanks for your comment,
Nathan
Nathan,
I think I had misunderstood your point about mourning…I understand now what you’re saying…and completely agree with you. In fact you “expanded on” my thoughts about the passage.
So I think the “short circuit” was at my end and not yours!
God bless,
bob
Nathan said: “… whether we mourn over our own sin or whether we mourn over the sins of others, we just don’t seem to be very sincere in it compared to what we see in scripture.”
Hi Nathan
I have noticed this phenomenon in myself too. Perhaps it is due to lack of sincerity as you suggest. Maybe in my prayers I generate some contrition but it is only frothy and superficial and I don’t meditate deeply enough to let it thoroughly transform my outlook. However, could there be another contributory factor too? Perhaps we modern people live too frenetically and we jump from one activity to another and fill each day with hundreds of tasks that we are able to accomplish ‘on autopilot’. Whereas 2,000 years ago people could not pick up a cell phone and talk instantly to someone 20 miles away and then immediately switch to do another job. The only forms of transport were walking, sailing, or riding a donkey. So each journey took a long time and gave people time between each task to chew things over and reflect on all the ramifications of what they had just done or were about to do, with the result that their personalities were more integrated. Consequently a contrite spirit obtained during prayer remained in their consciousness for a long time afterwards. ???