We all have experienced shame and guilt in our lives. No matter how meticulous or cautious we have been in life, we always have that moment where we feel remorseful or embarrassed because of something we shouldn’t have done or something we should have done but didn’t. As I was researching these two words, I was reminded that our first parents also struggled with shame and guilt. And if these struggles existed since then, that means still today, God is aware of the sufferings that come when dealing with them.
For example, when our first parents felt shameful and regretful after eating the forbidden fruit, God clothed them with animal skin, which represented Jesus who took upon Himself their guilt and shame and gave them His righteousness instead so that they don’t have to carry the weight of their sins anymore, and the same covering is also available to us all.
In Luc 4: 18-19, Jesus made it crystal clear what His mission on the earth was and still is. Jesus said: “The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me because He has anointed Me to preach the Gospel to the poor, He has sent Me to heal the broken hearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, recovery of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed and to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord.” See, there is something about the poor, the brokenhearted, the blind, the captives (whether physically or mentally), and the oppressed that attracts Jesus so much so that He came and died for them. And if you’ve ever been poor, heartbroken, blind, or crushed, then Jesus died for you too and He is the perfect best friend for you.
If we think about it, every person that Jesus helped while He was on earth had to deal with shame and guilt. Some of these people were blind since birth, demonically possessed, and publicly humiliated, some of them had leprosy, had bad reputations as tax collectors, had been paralyzed for years, and let’s not forget the woman who had been hemorrhaging for twelve years, the Samaritan one who had multiple husbands, and the woman who got caught in adultery publicly.
While guilt is to feel regretful when one makes a mistake, meaning to recognize he did something bad, which can be a good thing in the sense of “Godly grief (repentance)”; however, shame is to condemn oneself permanently, by having negative beliefs and perceptions of self and thinking that one is just a bad, worthless, and broken person. It is a form of self-inflicted pain/self-sabotaging.
Have you ever dealt with shame and unhealthy guilt before? I’ve been down that road and I was stuck there for many years. These negative emotions can make you want to isolate yourself and make you want to run to a far distant land and never return. And some of us can be so rooted in shame and guilt that we don’t even think that Jesus can get us out. Well, keep reading because I have good news for you!
Jesus usually asked people this question: “Do you believe?” And I don’t think Jesus was asking the question merely to help or heal them, I believe He was also speaking to their shame and guilt by asking them, “Do you believe?” which also implied do you believe I can set you free from this mindset, from the bondage of guilt and shame? Do you believe that I can make you whole? Do you believe you can be born again? And do you believe I can erase your past and give you a brand-new beginning?
Jesus never condemned the people who came to Him regardless of their sins. I can say that Jesus’ motto, was always “Son, be of good cheer, your sins are forgiven you” but He never discredited or condemned anyone because “There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit.” Romans 8:1. Shame and guilt trips are one of Satan’s powerful weapons, and they go hand in hand with depression.
There is a trick that the enemy uses against us a lot. For example, if someone is addicted to alcohol or pornography, during the addiction period, the enemy will do all in his power to keep that person blind to the sin, he will make sure that he doesn’t realize the damage to his health and how much he is destroying his family and hurting his loved ones. However, as soon as Jesus delivers this person from their afflictions, here comes Satan with the shame and guilt trip, constantly reminding that person about what he has done and how terrible he is just to keep him physically, emotionally, and spiritually captive. It’s a mind game!
On the other hand, Jesus went the extra mile to get us out of Satan’s tricks. He accepted a public humiliating death, He was spat on, stripped off His clothes, flogged, His back ripped to shreds, nails hammered into His body, a crown of thorns on His head, He was hung high and stretched wide on a cross, etc. And though He despised the cross Himself, He experienced shame just so He can relate to us and set us free from every bondage because the truth is no one can know what shame truly feels like unless he’s been humiliated, disgraced, abused, lost his dignity, self-respect, and self-worth.
Jesus went through all that and more, but He still came out victorious. Today He is saying to you and me “to be of good cheer” because He bled for our freedom, and He did not shed His blood in vain. His blood is efficient and can erase any deeply rooted shame or any label we’ve placed upon ourselves, or somebody else has placed upon us. His blood is enough!
SCRIPTURES
But the Lord God called to the man and said to him, “Where are you?” And he said, “I heard the sound of You in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked, and I hid myself.” He said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten of the tree of which I commanded you not to eat?” Genesis 3: 9-11
As Scripture says: “Anyone who believes in Him will never be put to shame.” For there is no difference between Jew and Gentile, the same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on Him, for “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” Romans 10: 11-13
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