Overcoming Guilt and Shame

I am reading Brian Houston’s new book Live, Love Lead. This passage inspired the video. “Some people are saved but they’re not free. They don’t believe they deserve to be happy, to enjoy the spacious, joyful life God has for them. They feel as if they’re disqualified. They’re unfit for happiness. But it’s not true! It’s nothing more then the devil’s lies.

Sin becomes guilt, which is something we feel, an emotion. However, shame is something you carry, a state of being. People will sometimes say, “Shame on you!” and try to throw it at you. They judge you, condemn you, and try to make you feel the harsh sting of rejection.

He then goes on to tell this truth. “If we want to shake off shame, we myst understand the full power of what Jesus Christ has done for us. If you carry shame, then you’re not carrying what comes with the full blessing of God.”

AMOKArts Message: Cast of Characters: The Gift of Guilt and Shame

I know it’s hard to see guilt and shame as a gift but they can be used as a way of turning a person around or keeping us from going down the wrong road in the first place. Join us as we take an unusual look at John 8:1-11 the story of the woman caught in adultery.

Now just to be clear, I think Max Lucado’s book is pretty wonderful over all. I even think he did some good things in this chapter. I just struggled with the  juxtaposition of these two stories. I do get where he was going. He was trying to show someone who carried the pain of undeserved guilt and shame and the freedom we can find in Christ. The problem is there are many of us who live with guilt and shame that we hold some responsibility in. Grace is wonderful and available to us all, and it comes with repentance. I wanted to show a bit more of this dichotomy.