Dealing with Shame

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The spiritual medicine for guilt is forgiveness. The medicine for shame is love. When we come across a person who is struggling with shame it often means learning to love that person in spite of some ugly and painful realities that they have buried inside them. This is one of the hardest lessons God teaches us about loving others. God wants us to show love that does not cringe at the brokenness or swampy mess we see in them. One of the things I have been learning is that loving people in spite of perceived unloveliness, becomes a lesson about how God loves me despite my own darkness of soul. Think about how you respond to people who are struggling with shame. Do you distance yourself from them? Do you show disgust and distain for them once the reason for their shame is exposed? Honestly ask if you are loving people with this struggle with the same love God gives to you every day.

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  1. I was just struggling with shame this morning from things I did in my early teens. I have repented and even asked and received forgiveness from the 2 people but I know that if people knew what I had done they would never look at me the same again. I completely understand man’s depravity and our lack of any merit to get to heaven. When I read that ‘while I was yet a sinner, Christ died for me’ it is real. The depth of his love is real. I don’t know who said it but I echo them, ‘but by the grace of God there go I’. Thanks for this post. I hope it encourages people to consider prison ministry and to offer discipleship for those coming out of prisons. Gid bless you.
    Keith

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    2. Thanks Keith! So glad you were encouraged and see that God knew you would be struggling with that this morning and because of that guided me to set that post for this am. God loves you can cares for you that much. =)

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  3. Yes, amen! The thing that I notice about shame is that it is just the other side of pride. So people can be withdrawn,like a teenager with a hoody over their eyes, or a bully, arrogant and demanding. It’s all wounded pride layered over shame. So the more pride we can set down,the less shame we will lug around. Jesus Christ actually goes to the cross “despising the shame” on our behalf, so He has taken that upon Himself and it doesn’t belong to us anymore. The problem being we have to set down our pride in order to set down our shame.

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  5. Pingback: Dealing With Shame | The Crusty Old Sailor Speaks

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