Wisdom lifts up her voice. Do we hear her: “Many that are first shall be last; and the last shall be first.” She is greater than fine diamonds. Have we desired her: “He brings low the mighty and exalts the lowly.” By her judges rule and kings reign. Have we discovered her: “He must increase, but I must decrease.” Consider wisdom:

It is better to go to a house of mourning than to go to a house of feasting and sorrow is better than laughter, because a sad face is good for the heart. The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning, but the heart of fools is in the house of pleasure. Eccl 7:2-4

Wisdom? The heart is made better by the sadness of the countenance? The house of mourning is better than the house of feasting? I thought Christian salvation was about God having a wonderful, happy plan for my life. Why all this talk of sadness and mourning? Surely the writer doesn’t understand the ways of God. Surely he doesn’t understand salvation – or does he? Is it possible that it is us moderns who don’t understand the ways of God?

Solomon understood this little known truth: “Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone: but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit” (John 12:24). He knew that “weeping may last for the night, but a shout of joy comes in the morning.” Solomon was convinced that without crucifixion there is no resurrection. Reader, is the contemporary Christian church greater than its Master?

Consider a baker preparing bread: he meticulously adds the water, sugar, salt, yeast and flour. He mixes and punches until the consistency is perfect. His guests are clamoring for the bread, but he knows he must be patient – he cannot rush the rising. To do so would ruin the bread. He could concede to the guest’s desires for faster, yeast-free bread. After all, it might taste similar to bread. It might even resemble bread. In the end, however, it would never actually be bread at all.

From powdered milk to microwave popcorn, if you want easy and fast – you’ve got it. Drive-through restaurants; drive-through dry cleaners; drive-through church, it’s alright – forget the yeast! We want weight loss without strain and Christian conversion without contrition – the rising just takes too long! Contrition? Indeed, contrition is the yeast in the bread of genuine conversion. Contrition is the house of mourning and the sadness of the countenance. It is the death of the seed and the weeping at midnight. Contrition means crucifixion to self-sufficiency and arrogance. Contrition is the sackcloth and ashes of the soul!

Without contrition genuine revival and Christian conversion are impossible. Please, don’t misunderstand me. We can still fill mega-churches without contrition. We might even have a thousand “decision cards” (and probably will) without contrition. Sinners might even tithe and sing hymns without contrition. But we will never get one self-absorbed sinner to repent and be genuinely converted without contrition.

Because your heart was tender and you humbled yourself before me, and did rend your clothes, and weep before me; I have even heard you, says the Lord (2 Chron 34:27-28).

The sacrifice of a torn garment is fruitless without the sacrifice of a contrite and broken heart. In the same way the sacrifices of church attendance, giving, and other spiritual endeavors are useless apart from a contrite heart. We may shred every garment we own and even assent to all the right doctrinal stuff, but without a tender and humble heart God does not hear and revival will not come. Remove godly sorrow from the bread of conversion and our converts just won’t rise.

I now rejoice, not that you were made sorrowful, but that you were made sorrowful to the point of repentance; for you were made sorrowful according to the will of God, in order that you might not suffer loss in anything through us. For the sorrow that is according to the will of God produces a repentance without regret, leading to salvation; but the sorrow of the world produces death (2 Cor 7:9-10).