Entertainment

So Friday night I went to the movies with Joyce. We saw "The Last Song" and let me just tell you, don't go see that if you have just lost someone you love. Was a great movie up till the end. I don't like movies that hit close to home. Life is hard enough and if I didn't have Jesus to rely on it would be impossible. However, I like my movies and books and tv shows to be way out there! I like to get lost in the impossible for just a short while before getting back to life. Am I crazy? *SHRUG*


Shelly



"For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.” John 3:17



Shame is similar to false guilt in that it is caused largely by someone who "shamed us" especially when we were young. That is, whenever we did something wrong, we got the message (verbal or non-verbal), "Shame on you." "You are a bad person." "You are a disappointment to me!" "I am so ashamed of you," etc., etc.



Such criticisms are psychologically damaging. As the old saying goes, "Give a dog a name and he will live up to it." People will too—especially if a person was constantly ridiculed, put down and shamed as a child.



True guilt says you have DONE badly but shame says you ARE bad. If a person comes to believe that he or she is a bad person, they will act badly.



In real life we don't always act consistently with what we profess, but we always act consistently with what we believe. So if we believe we are a bad person, that's the way we will act.



When dealing with anyone, including ourselves when they or we have acted "badly," we need to always remember to "condemn" the deed NOT the person! Example: "I love you but what you have done [name it] makes me feel angry and/or very disappointed."



We need God's help so we will learn to treat others the way God treats us. While he hates our sin because it destroys those whom he loves (us), he loves the sinner and doesn't condemn or shame us. Shame and false guilt never come from God. They are man-induced.

Blessedly with God, "There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus."



When we confess our sins to God and ask for his forgiveness, and ask God's Son, Jesus Christ, to come into our heart and life as personal Lord and Savior, God forgives us fully and loves us totally. Again, false guilt and shame never come from God.



Pastor Hersch