5. What motivates worldly sadness, and why is it not genuine repentance?

⁵ Worldly sadness may stem simply from a sense of personal failure and accompanying disappointment, or from concern over the loss of esteem or of certain benefits, or from the prospect of undergoing discipline or shame. This is a sadness over the undesirable and hurtful results of the wrongdoing, or over the fact that the wrongdoing came to light. Though normal in themselves, if these feelings are the sole reasons for sadness, then the individual does not truly regret having committed the sin but is distressed about having been exposed. He is not really concerned about the reproach that his transgression has brought upon God.

 6. What shows that Esau’s emotional outburst in connection with Isaac’s blessing Jacob was not true repentance?

⁶ This is well illustrated in the case of Esau. For one meal he sold his birthright to Jacob. Years later, when Jacob received the blessing that was due the firstborn, Esau gave way to an emotional outburst of sorrow. He cried out “in an extremely loud and bitter manner,” wanting to persuade his father Isaac to change his mind about blessing Jacob. Esau did not regret the unspiritual attitude that prompted him to ‘despise his birthright.’ No, he regretted the fact that he had lost benefits through his course of action.​—Gen. 25:29-34; 27:34; Heb. 12:16, 17.

 9. What do we learn about repentance from the Scriptural record about Esau and Saul?

⁹ From what the Bible says about Esau and King Saul, we can draw some vital points that can help elders to gain insight as to whether a wrongdoer is repentant. Tears may accompany expressions of true sorrow. Nonetheless, like Esau’s tears, emotional displays are not in themselves proof of repentance. By the same token, the absence of such does not necessarily mean that the erring one is unrepentant. The important thing is that the individual deeply regrets the wrong, acknowledging it as a sin against Jehovah. He would bring into question any claimed repentance if he continued to justify or excuse his actions. The individual should come to hate the wrong course, loathing it. While there may be a natural measure of embarrassment in his having become guilty of grave sin, his primary concern should be not so much with the unpleasant consequences of his wrongdoing but, rather, the reproach he brought upon Jehovah God and the congregation of his people. He should sincerely regret having damaged his relationship with the Most High.