Prose

Repentance is not only a matter of what one should turn from but also of Whom one should turn to. For repentance is a redirection of what the heart wants or so desires from something to something else. In it, the heart changes its course of direction and makes a half round turn from its former way; for it now sees how good, pleasant, and ideal that direction truly is and how wicked, twisted, and destructive the former one actually is.
 
The problem is that the heart of man, in his depravity, is so corrupted that it tends to see evil as "good" and good as "evil." If it remains the same, it cannot repent; for it will only keep on turning to the wrong direction as it tends to. It will just go on to that direction if it does not change. But if it does and it is renewed, it will see the truth and shall redirect its desires to the right direction.

That is why the heart has to change first for it to repent. For when it does, it will see that all the good things, even all the good pleasures, come from God and so, it will turn to Him; in effect, it will see it will see that the sin it used to love is a scum compared to the good things that are offered by God and so, it will turn from it.

For when one turns to sin, sin will lead him to an all-gruesome, all-painful, all-sorrowful eternity in a place we call "hell"; but when he turns to God, God will lead him to an all-good, all-pleasurable, and all-joyous eternity in a place we call "heaven."

- Shim'onai :D