Question 4:

What is the difference between self-pity and grieving over sin?
I think for the most part they can appear the same from the outside, but the sinner is the one who knows what's going on in their heart. For me, when I genuinely grieve it is a feeling of total sorrow for my part in the nailing of Christ to the cross. In other times it may be a feeling of sorrow for totally letting God down... again. Self pity is almost like showing sorrow for being caught, not for the sin itself. So, the difference is where the sorrow comes from.

Question 3:

What forms may Godly mourning over sins take?

Question 2:

What are some evasions people use to avoid mourning their sins?
I think the greatest one would be that they have no sin, or that their sin isn't that bad. This is true especially among non-Christians, or Christians who don't really understand their faith.
A few weeks back my minister led the church in prayer, and one thing he said in his prayer was something along the lines of "forgive me father for not wanting to give up my sin". I think this is particularly true. Someone who has a sin of alcohol abuse may not really want to give it up, and so avoid mourning it.

Question 1:

What does this beatitude tell you about the heart of God?
That He is an empathic God. He has love for his children in the same way as we have love for our children, except of course most of our children have not been traitors to us. God's amazing ability to forgive us is one thing, but to comfort us as well...

Study

It is one thing to be spiritually poor and acknowledge it, as the first beatitude says; it is another thing to grieve and mourn over it. In more theological language, confession is one thing, contrition is another. One might almost translate the second beatitude "Happy and the unhappy" in order to draw attention to the startling paradox it contains.
"Blessed are those who morune for they will be comforted." (Matthew 5:4)
It is plain from the context that those Jesus promised comfort are not primarily those who mourn the loss of a loved one, but those who mourn the loss of their innocence, their righteousness, their self-respect. It is not the sorrow of bereavement to which Christ refers, but the sorrow of repentance.

Section 2: Repenting of Our Sins - Matthew 5:4; Romans 7:21-25

Please go to Biblegateway to read the passages relevant to this post.

Open Discussion:

When is a time when you feel you have mourned for (That is, grieved or felt sorrow over) something or someone

Please use comments to add your view.

Summary

The indispensable condition of receiving the kingdom of God is to acknowledge our spiritual poverty. To the poor in spirit, and only to the poor in spirit, the kingdom of God is given. For God's rule which brings salvation is a gift as absolutely free as it is utterly undeserved.