Is Sadness a Sin? A Biblical Look at Sorrow, Grief, and Faith
On July 12, 2026, Pastor Mike Boyle continued the series Is Sadness a Sin? with a message that met people right where many of them already were — in the middle of loss, pain, and unanswered questions. Opening with a reflection on the 250th anniversary of American independence and Thomas Paine’s famous words from The Crisis, Pastor Mike drew a powerful contrast between the temporary nature of political freedom and the eternal freedom purchased by Jesus Christ on the cross.
Where Has Sorrow Found You?
Before diving into Scripture, Pastor Mike paused to acknowledge that sorrow visits people in very different places. For some, it arrives at a hospital bedside, saying goodbye to a loved one too soon. For others, it comes while staring at a photograph of a child and wondering what might have been. It shows up in financial collapse, a failed business, a lost career, or a body that simply will not stop hurting. Sorrow does not schedule appointments. It finds us. And when it does, we need to know what the Bible says about it.
What Is Sadness?
The first question Pastor Mike addressed was the most foundational: what actually is sadness? His answer was grounded in Scripture. God Himself experiences sorrow. Genesis 6:6 tells us that the Lord was grieved in His heart over the wickedness of mankind. John 11:33–35 shows us Jesus weeping at the tomb of Lazarus. If God feels sorrow, then sadness itself cannot be a sin. Ecclesiastes 3:4 reminds us that there is an appointed time for mourning, meaning God built seasons of sadness into the fabric of human experience. Sadness, in its most basic form, is the experience of loss — the discomfort we feel when something we love is no longer as it should be. Pastor Mike drew an important distinction here. There is a sorrow that flows from sin and guilt, which requires atonement. And there is a sorrow that flows from the curse of a fallen world, which requires faith.
Why Do We Experience Sorrow?
Pastor Mike walked through four biblical reasons we experience sadness. First, sorrow entered the world through the Fall in Genesis 3. Second, God uses difficulty to test and purify our faith, as described in 1 Peter 1:6–7. Third, our trials are tools in God’s hands to grow us in maturity and perseverance, according to James 1:2–4. Fourth, our suffering can become a platform for others to see Christ, as Paul writes in 2 Corinthians 1:3–4. Our pain is never wasted in God’s economy.
What Should We Do With Sorrow?
This section of the message carried the most weight. Pastor Mike taught that the direction sorrow takes depends entirely on what we do with it. Sorrow met with unbelief leads to worldly sorrow, the kind Paul describes in 2 Corinthians 7:10 as producing death. Cain is the sobering biblical example. When loss and disappointment are not brought to God, they curdle into bitterness, anger, and destruction. But sorrow met with faith leads to godly sorrow and life. The pathway forward begins with giving our burdens to the Lord as 1 Peter 5:7 commands, because He is the Man of Sorrows described in Isaiah 53:3 who fully understands our pain. He did not merely sympathize with our grief — He bore it on the cross. Pastor Mike also emphasized that enduring sorrow does not mean pretending it is not real. Memorializing what has been lost is a legitimate and healthy part of grieving. But we must not grow weary and quit. Galatians 6:9 calls us to continue doing good and trusting God’s timing, with Psalm 30:5 assuring us that joy comes in the morning.
The Church’s Role in Grief
Pastor Mike reminded the congregation that no one is meant to carry sorrow alone. Galatians 6:1–2 calls the church to restore and bear one another’s burdens. Romans 12:15 instructs us to weep with those who weep. Compassion, the kind Jesus modeled in Matthew 9:36, is not optional in the life of the local church. It is central to who we are called to be.
When Will Sorrow End?
Pastor Mike closed with the hope that sustains every believer. Seasons of sadness are not permanent. Ecclesiastes 3:4 promises that the time of mourning gives way to dancing. For those who are in Christ, death itself is a transition into His presence as Philippians 1:23 declares. When Christ returns, 1 Thessalonians 4:16–18 tells us we will be caught up to be with Him forever. And in the New Heaven and New Earth, Revelation 21:4 gives us the final word — God Himself will wipe every tear from every eye, and sorrow will be no more. The sorrow of Christ on the cross purchased a freedom that no government can grant and no enemy can take away. That is not something we should ever be sad about.