Speaker: Ben Sigman
Theme: Shame
Weekend Music links on iTunes: Today is the Day - Lincoln Brewster, Holding Nothing Back - Jesus Culture, The Time Has Come - Hillsong, From the Inside Out - Hillsong
Read: Genesis 3:7-11, Hebrews 12:2
Think: . I remember the day when I noticed my daughter, who was somewhere between 2 and 3 years old, first experienced shame. For a long time, she did not know what shame was. She dribbled and drooled on herself, she made embarrassing noises, she wobbled and fell down when trying to walk, but none of these “faults” produced shame in her until that day. She pronounced a word in a very cute, but very wrong way, and I smiled with delight in the pleasure of hearing it. But she was not so delighted. She turned red, and said, “Not funny!” She was aware that she mispronounced the word. My smile, though unintentional, registered to her that I was laughing at her mistake. I don’t know when she became conscious that it was embarrassing to not a say a word right, but there it was, written all over her face. Then she buried her head and cried. I cried too, because it was the end of an innocence for her.
Up until that point there was no shame in growing, falling, missing the mark. But that day she was aware of her “failed attempt”, her inability, her feelings of being “less than”, and she was ashamed of it. It was like the account in Genesis 3:7, “At that moment their eyes were opened, and they suddenly felt shame at their nakedness.” And like Adam and Eve, she wanted to hide.
After I had heard what my daughter said, she and I hugged, and I affirmed her that she was bright and enjoyable and brave for trying and that I smile at her because I am happy when I am with her. I told her that when she was ready, we would practice the word together. She was ashamed of her own inability, but I was not ashamed of her.
Isn’t this what God’s Spirit says to us? Yes, it’s true that we mess a lot of things up, we hurt ourselves, we sin against others and the God we love. But more powerful than the sin we get stuck in, is the grip of God’s grace pulling us out. It’s God’s voice that says to us, “I love you and I get that you’re human. You’re ashamed of yourself, but I’m not ashamed of you. Now get up again and let me help you.”
Do: Simply notice the times throughout the day shame sneaks up to bite you. Give that shameful thought back to God and let Him deal with it.
Pray: Lord, forgive me for the things that I do against You and Your way. Help me to quit beating myself up over them and get back in the game. Help me to live without shame.
The eDevotional is written each week by a team of volunteers from Timberlake Church.
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