As I child, I heard it from parents and
grandparents.
“Shame, shame, shame,” one of my parents…or
more likely one of my grandparents…might say. If they did, it meant I had
broken one of their rules or behaved in a way they deemed inappropriate. Even
as a young child, which is when I normally heard this, I knew what it meant.
As I got older, the three words didn’t
bring the same response as they had when I was younger and wanted to please
everyone. The larger problem related to God’s rules, which my parents’ and
grandparents’ rules supposedly mimicked. If I broke their rules, I was guilty
of infringing upon God’s principles.
But I also experienced another type of
shame: shame over my body. To say the least, I hated it. Skinny. Bony. And if
that wasn’t enough, I had to get ugly glasses while in elementary school. Other
classmates made fun of my shape, and I certainly wasn’t one they wanted on
their team in Physical Education class when we played basketball or dodgeball.
Paul says anyone who believes in Christ should
never be put to shame.
Shame comes in two varieties: misplaced
and rightly placed. One bad, the other good. If I do the opposite of what Paul
says, I experience misplaced shame. I should never be ashamed of who I am in
Christ. Nor should I ever refrain from telling others through my actions and
words that I belong to Him. Hiding who I am because I don’t want others to make
fun of me or persecute me leads to misplaced shame.
Misplaced shame also shows up when I try
to improve on how God made me and who He made me to be. He gave me my body and
my personality. What others think is, on one hand, important, but on the other
hand, not so important. I’m here to please God, not others. When I fail to
accept that, along with the gifts God has given me, I feel shame when I
shouldn’t.
Rightly placed shame entails recognizing I
am what the Bible says: a sinner in need of forgiveness. I should feel ashamed
that I’ve failed God. The good news is that God made a way out of that shame.
Through believing in His Son, I can experience forgiveness and release from
condemnation, knowing Christ has paid for all my sins. Daily confession of my
failures and sins keeps me on good terms with God.
Satan wants us to continually beat
ourselves up, making us think we are no good, getting us to think God can never
use us. If he convinces us, we’re defeated, and God won’t be able to use us.
Because of misplaced shame.
Don’t let the wrong type of shame lead you
to a life of misery. Experience God’s forgiveness and enjoy being the person He
created you to be.
Prayer: Father, thank You for making it
possible for us to live without shame.
Tweetable: Are you living with shame?
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