share on shame

the very word shame instantly evokes emotion in many people. i have been thinking alot about shame today. i read this today and it got me thinking about the work of shame in our lives. i'd love to hear your thoughts about shame. here are mine.

i lived so much of my life in shame. all of us are effected by it, but some much more than others. i got together to pray with some friends today and found my heart heavy with the thoughts of how many people are crippled by it. today the shame thing seems especially significant because it's father's day and portland's gay pride day. there's a whole segment of society 'celebrating' their shame today in my city. they've created an identity rooted in the shame they have given up trying to get out from under. there are fathers that are ashamed of how they've handled fatherhood, and children that have walked in shame that was put on them by their own fathers. today is a painful day for many people.

as we got together and prayed today we asked God to show us the opposite of shame. the conclusion we came to was that it is worth. the work of shame is to convince us that we have no worth to God and/or to others. shame is complicated to put your finger on because it is the fertile soil for so many other things like pride, anger and sins we turn to for comfort. freedom from shame comes in the realization that we are valued as we are, dirt, sin, pain and all.

as we were praying i opened up to psalm 32. here's what it says...

Oh, what joy for those
whose rebellion is forgiven,
whose sin is put out of sight!
Yes, what joy for those
whose record the LORD has cleared of sin,
whose lives are lived in complete honesty!
When I refused to confess my sin,
I was weak and miserable,
and I groaned all day long.
Day and night your hand of discipline was heavy on me.
My strength evaporated like water in the summer heat.
Finally, I confessed all my sins to you
and stopped trying to hide them. I said to myself,
"I will confess my rebellion to the LORD."
And you forgave me! All my guilt is gone.
Therefore, let all the godly confess their rebellion to you
while there is time, that they may not drown
in the floodwaters of judgment.
For you are my hiding place;
you protect me from trouble.
You surround me with songs of victory.
The LORD says, "I will guide you along the best pathway for your life.
I will advise you and watch over you.
Do not be like a senseless horse or mule
that needs a bit and bridle to keep it under control."
Many sorrows come to the wicked,
but unfailing love surrounds those who trust the LORD.
So rejoice in the LORD and be glad, all you who obey him!
Shout for joy, all you whose hearts are pure!

i love that it says, "let all the godly confess their rebellion to you while there is time". it says godly, not wicked. being godly has nothing to do with being perfect and everything to do with positioning ourselves to transparency before Him. this transparency requires courage and risk of God's rejection, but the beauty is that we soon become aware that God won't reject us. He can't. He's made Himself incapable of it.

the other thing i was thinking was how shame works in God's people. it is directly contrary to the warfare spirit that rises up, defies the work of the enemy and fights in declaration of God's truth. the work of shame brings us to hopelessness and resignation that is contrary to faith and confidence in the nature and love of God.

there is no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus. God doesn't hold anything against us because he loves us and has made us valuable. He can't see us any other way. as we risk being transparent before Him it allows Him to come and show us the lies we believed about our worth and opens the door for Him to speak His truth to our hearts about who we really are. we are His children, co-heirs with Jesus. all that the Father has is for us to share with Him.

romans 8 continues on to say in verses 15-17, "So you should not be like cowering, fearful slaves. You should behave instead like God's very own children, adopted into his family--calling him "Father, dear Father." For his Holy Spirit speaks to us deep in our hearts and tells us that we are God's children. And since we are his children, we will share his treasures--for everything God gives to his Son, Christ, is ours, too."

isn't God amazing?