GUILT VERSUS SHAME
“I, even I, am He who blots out your transgressions, for My own sake, and remembers your sins no more.”
Isaiah 43:25-26 (NIV)
There is nothing more toxic in our spiritual life than shame. We must not confuse shame with guilt. It took me a long while to distinguish between the two. Guilt says I made a mistake, while shame says I am a mistake. God allows us to feel guilt and the weight of a bad decision so we can grow from it. This is good. It’s a coach calling his best player to a higher standard they can meet. This is important. God knows that as His children, we have been given all the tools to live to a higher standard of holiness through the Spirit. There are times we let our flesh win, but that’s not who we are. We are freed and new creations if we are in Jesus. This means God will allow us to feel guilt when we live beneath who we are called to be and who He knows we can be. In this case, it’s the kindness of God that leads to repentance.
Shame is a whole other animal. Shame creates paralysis. One of the ways to distinguish between shame and guilt is to understand that guilt creates a desire to change, while change just entraps you. Shame makes you feel like there are no possibilities and that you are destined to grind it out for the rest of your life, finding very little victory or freedom. Shame makes you feel like a mistake, and those feelings get you to sabotage yourself with more bad decisions. You feel that the mistake or bad behavior is who you are. Shame makes us feel like a fraud. I believe many people have fallen away from Jesus because of a failure to distinguish between guilt and shame. If you make a mistake, you are not a counterfeit Christian. We all make mistakes, but what matters is that you remember your identity. Remember that it is beneath you, and God has called you to a higher standard because you are His child, and He has given you every spiritual blessing to overcome your mistake. Remember this today, and let hope and forgiveness dwell richly in you. He remembers your sin no more because your identity has changed. If you are struggling, remember the forgiveness and power you have in Jesus. This will cause you to live in deeper freedom.
APPLICATION: Remember your identity, not your sins, today.
PRAYER: If you are struggling with any shame, ask the Spirit to remove it. Ask the Spirit to remind you that He wouldn’t call you to a standard you couldn’t meet. Pray that you will see yourself as the Spirit does, a child of God. Ask for a deeper awareness of the power that lives inside you.
“… Our Father in heaven…” Matthew 6:9b (NLT)
- What do You want to say to me today as my Father?
“… may Your name be kept holy.” Matthew 6:9c (NLT)
- What do You want to reveal to me about Your power today?
“May Your Kingdom come soon.” Matthew 6:10a (NLT)
- Help me make Your priorities my priorities today.
“Give us today the food we need,” Matthew 6:11 (NLT)
- Is there anything specific You want me to do with my time or the people I’m around today?
“and forgive us our sins, as we have forgiven those who sin against us” Matthew 6:12 (NLT)
- Reveal to me anyone I need to forgive or ask for forgiveness.
“And don’t let us yield to temptation…” Matthew 6:13a (NLT)
- Is there anywhere I’m vulnerable to temptation?