Our culture is in the throes of diminishing the definition of shame. It’s understandable in that shame makes one feel guilty and no one wants to feels this way. I’ve heard, through the media, from people in the entertainment business that shame no longer has any place in our culture as it holds us back from attaining the highest expression we as humans can reach. This all sounds so reasonable, but is it? Where did shame come from and what purpose does it still serve today?
In the Garden of Eden Adam and Eve sinned and were forced to leave their paradise. They had made a decision to live independently from the Father who offered everything to them and they only had to acknowledge that they needed Him to exist. This they decided together wasn’t what they desired and sin and shame were first introduced into the world. But it didn’t end there. God still loved and cared for them. Shame was the constant reminder that they had made a mistake. If they didn’t want to feel the bitterness of shame they only had to admit (as we do today) that they (and we) want to live in dependence upon Him. God would have readily forgiven them. In this we find our joy and His peace that He is so willing to share with us. Without shame being given to us as a gift we would be permanently detached from God much like an astronaut is untethered from the space station.
The issue today is not to run from shame but to run to the Father for healing. If we decide on our own that we must rid the world of our shame so that we can live as we please we are only continually living in banishment (and heartache) instead of coming home to the Father and living with Him in dependence and peace.
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