<p>7:8 <i>Even if I caused you sorrow by my letter, I do not regret it. Though I did regret it, for I see that that epistle made you sorry, though only for a time- </i>We meet here the intriguing situation whereby Paul wrote an inspired letter with a command concerning the immoral man- and then regretted writing it. It seems that for a time Paul took false guilt over the matter. But he emerged from that, refusing to feel guilty for it. And there are other Biblical examples of refusing to take guilt when others feel that it should be taken. Recall how the Lord&rsquo;s own parents blamed Him for &lsquo;making them anxious&rsquo; by &lsquo;irresponsibly&rsquo; remaining behind in the temple. The Lord refused to take any guilt, didn&rsquo;t apologize, and even gently rebuked them (Lk. 2:42-51). In similar vein, Paul would not take guilt for their being upset with him. Likewise Absalom comforted his raped sister not to &lsquo;take it to heart&rsquo;, not to feel guilty about it, as it seems she was feeling that way, taking false guilt upon her for her rape (2 Sam. 13:20).</p><p>On a more human level, it seems that the Corinthians had replied that they were 'most upset' by Paul's letter commanding them to remove the immoral man, and criticizing them for not having done so. Yet Paul turns that pouting, self-justifying 'We are most upset by how you wrote to us, you know' into a claim that they had sorrowed unto repentance. He is making a word play with &quot;sorrow&quot;. But the rest of 2 Corinthians shows that they still needed to experience Godly sorrow leading to real repentance (12:20,21).</p>