There’s a book called “Free Yourself, Be Yourself” by Alan Wright. It’s a really good book, but I like its original title much better – “Shame Off You” – I love that!

How many times have you heard, “Shame on you” or “You should be ashamed of yourself.” Let’s stop and think about this for a moment. Do we really think it’s helpful to heap shame on someone? Don’t we feel enough of that all on our own?

One more question, does this really encourage change?

The Bible starts by describing Adam and Eve as “feeling no shame.” When they rebelled, the Bible highlights that they now felt shame. Shame has a way of overwhelming us. It beats us up. It tells us when we make a mistake that we ARE a mistake. In other words, it lies.

As believers, it’s critical to understand that when we rebel against God we will feel conviction, but not shame.

Here’s the difference. Shame makes us want to run away from God and hide. Conviction brings us back to realizing what we really need is God, and it draws us back to Him.

The Bible clearly states, “There is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.” Notice the word “unless” does not appear anywhere in that sentence. This is because this promise is NOT dependent upon us or our behavior.

What did God do with Adam and Eve when they felt ashamed/condemned? He covered them. He covered their shame. Their temporary attempt to cover themselves (fig leaves), God replaced with a more permanent solution (animal skins).

Here’s the Good News for today, what God did for Adam and Eve was just a shadow of what was to come. Christ would come and permanently cover our shame through the His life, death, and resurrection.

You see, there’s no place for shame in our lives. This is part of what Jesus declared was finished through the cross.

The Apostle Paul writes it this way, “For the Scripture says, ‘Everyone who believes in him [Jesus] will not be put to shame.’” Now that’s Good News!

Shame OFF you!

#EverydayGospel

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