Good morning,
Have
you ever heard someone say to you, “You should be ashamed of
yourself?” Why does that statement have so much power? Some people
hear it from parents or other important people in their lives and they
never forget the situation or the feeling that they experienced when
that happened. The Bible tells us the roots of this powerful feeling
first showed up right after Adam and Eve experimented with rebellion.
They suddenly saw themselves in a whole new way and then they ran for
cover. Shame was Satan’s powerful new weapon that pushed the once
innocent couple away from their loving Creator. In that case, the shame
came from the sudden awareness that now they were in trouble with the
God who loved them and had warned them not to eat from that one tree in
the garden. The Bible is clear that sin is always a shameful thing.
However, shame is not just a problem when we have offended God. Satan
has also found a very powerful use of this same emotion for controlling
people who won’t come under his control. When his followers are being
drawn away from him by the promise of the forgiveness and love that
Jesus offers them, he is a master at using shame to keep them from
getting away.
Jesus warns those who are being drawn to him not to
be taken in by the skillful use of shame that comes from the world, the
flesh or the devil. It’s easy to talk about being a follower of Jesus
when our religious relationship with God is based on getting good things
and being successful in the sinful world around us. The genuine Jesus
requires that we take up his cross daily if we are going to follow him.
Jesus warns us that if his enemies control us with shame now, we will
live with eternal shame when we leave this world for the next. The
Apostle Paul faced this enemy for all the years that he followed Jesus.
In Romans, he wrote his response to this challenge in these words that
came from his heart, and that can come alive in our hearts as well. He
wrote “For I am not ashamed of this Good News about Christ. It is the
power of God at work, saving everyone who believes—the Jew first and
also the Gentile.” Adam and Eve made a choice that has led to so much
pain and shame. Dear Lord, please help us day by day to make the right
choices that will lead to freedom for us and those who follow us, both
in time and in eternity.
Mark 8:38 If anyone is ashamed
of me and my message in these adulterous and sinful days, the Son of
Man will be ashamed of that person when he returns in the glory of his
Father with the holy angels.”
Romans 1:16 For I am not ashamed of
this Good News about Christ. It is the power of God at work, saving
everyone who believes—the Jew first and also the Gentile.
Roy Wisner
