You see, my friends, repentance has much more to do with life and death than it does punishment. The person who repents from sin, itself, is different from the one who repents from punishment alone. The prior represents a true believer’s heart, the latter, an unbeliever’s.
When our focus/affections are diverted from Christ, misery seeps in and ruins our joy. In this new estate, we don’t feel like doing anything but wallowing in self-pity and self-induced misery (encouraging others is no longer top-of-mind). (cp. Php 3:13-14)