WANTED: SHAME!
When a local business is looking for new employees they usually post a sign on their door or window saying “Help WANTED”. It’s a clear message that there’s a shortage of staff and that in order for the business to maintain its usual standards then it needs to have some vacancies filled. What we see as being advertised as being WANTED is a clear indication of what’s missing. For our FF for today I want us to reflect on something else that’s missing and in short supply these days. It may surprise you but what I’m referring to is SHAME. And so with that our FF for today is WANTED: SHAME!
Now IÂ’ll be the first to say that SHAME can be the last thing that people want to experience in their lives. ItÂ’s like the failure we talked about last week. We may have some very hurtful memories of being made to feel SHAME. For some of us the emotional scars that have been left from our feeling so humiliated and disgraced because of SHAME are still fresh even though the incident may have happened years and years ago. We may cringe whenever we remember just how embarrassed with SHAME we were when we got caught doing something that was wrong or saying words that were not meant for others to hear. As painful as these encounters may have been, the moment of SHAME also became a powerful teaching moment. Most likely that SHAMEFUL event, even as we bring it back to our memories today might have also been a turning point in our lives. And so years later, as difficult as it may have been, you can say without doubt, that had you not been SHAMED then, you wouldnÂ’t be where you are today. But not everybody can say that for there may be some who the SHAME was too much and it left them not better but bitter; not stronger but weaker; not wiser but more ill-mannered. And so for some SHAME today is seen as nothing but a tragedy in their lives. While for others, SHAME may be viewed as a treasure.
Either way, one of the missing ingredients in todayÂ’s culture and society at large is SHAME. Nobody seems to be ASHAMED anymore of their actions. Nobody seems to be embarrassed or humiliated by doing wrong. It appears as though thereÂ’s no longer any sense of feeling SHAME and disgrace by how you live, what you wear or what you say. ItÂ’s as though we are no longer mortified by senseless killings and all the other ills around us. You get the impression that thereÂ’s a generation that doesnÂ’t know what it is to have SHAME. We only have to look at some of the pictures posted on Facebook pages, the tweets sent out on Twitter, the gifs that are circulated on Instagram and other social media exchanges. You cannot help but wonder, is there no SHAME? Specifically then the SHAME that is missing and that is WANTED is the SHAME towards sin in our lives.
The world though would desire of us to have less and less SHAME for sin and instead be ASHAMED of being a Jesus follower. But those who are believers in Christ have had their SHAME of sin removed by Calvary’s cross. Hebrews 12:2,3 reminds us that “Because of the joy awaiting him, he [Jesus] endured the cross, disregarding its SHAME. Now he is seated in the place of honor beside God’s throne. Think of all the humility he endured from sinful people, then you won’t become weary and give up.” Might we who profess the Christian faith live above reproach so that we don’t retake upon ourselves the SHAME that Christ already bore on the cross. And might we be bold enough to say to the world that SHAME towards sin is missing and very much WANTED. But as we do so let us also be quick to remind them of the Good News – Jesus by His death on the cross also removes that same SHAME. The WANTED SHAME of sin drives us to the cross of Christ where the perfect sacrifice for sin removes the SHAME of sin. To that we say: Hallelujah!
Mikie Roberts (Rev)
HereÂ’s the link for the blog. Join in the discussions.
http://moravians.net/serendipity/index.php?/categories/1-Friday-Focus
Either way, one of the missing ingredients in todayÂ’s culture and society at large is SHAME. Nobody seems to be ASHAMED anymore of their actions. Nobody seems to be embarrassed or humiliated by doing wrong. It appears as though thereÂ’s no longer any sense of feeling SHAME and disgrace by how you live, what you wear or what you say. ItÂ’s as though we are no longer mortified by senseless killings and all the other ills around us. You get the impression that thereÂ’s a generation that doesnÂ’t know what it is to have SHAME. We only have to look at some of the pictures posted on Facebook pages, the tweets sent out on Twitter, the gifs that are circulated on Instagram and other social media exchanges. You cannot help but wonder, is there no SHAME? Specifically then the SHAME that is missing and that is WANTED is the SHAME towards sin in our lives.
The world though would desire of us to have less and less SHAME for sin and instead be ASHAMED of being a Jesus follower. But those who are believers in Christ have had their SHAME of sin removed by Calvary’s cross. Hebrews 12:2,3 reminds us that “Because of the joy awaiting him, he [Jesus] endured the cross, disregarding its SHAME. Now he is seated in the place of honor beside God’s throne. Think of all the humility he endured from sinful people, then you won’t become weary and give up.” Might we who profess the Christian faith live above reproach so that we don’t retake upon ourselves the SHAME that Christ already bore on the cross. And might we be bold enough to say to the world that SHAME towards sin is missing and very much WANTED. But as we do so let us also be quick to remind them of the Good News – Jesus by His death on the cross also removes that same SHAME. The WANTED SHAME of sin drives us to the cross of Christ where the perfect sacrifice for sin removes the SHAME of sin. To that we say: Hallelujah!
Mikie Roberts (Rev)
HereÂ’s the link for the blog. Join in the discussions.
http://moravians.net/serendipity/index.php?/categories/1-Friday-Focus
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