{"id":8621,"date":"2024-05-17T21:50:40","date_gmt":"2024-05-18T00:50:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/shreveministries.org\/wp2\/?p=8621"},"modified":"2024-05-17T21:53:56","modified_gmt":"2024-05-18T00:53:56","slug":"the-shame-game","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/shreveministries.org\/wp2\/2024\/05\/the-shame-game\/","title":{"rendered":"The Shame Game"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Shame\u2026 we have all experienced it. It is the overwhelming feeling that our mistakes become our identity, that we will never recover from things that we have done or the things that were done to us. Shame hovers over every thought and every moment. Leaving us paralyzed in fear.<\/div>\n
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What would our lives be like if we never experienced shame? Imagine never feeling unworthy, unloved, inadequate, or like we have to prove ourselves to others. What risks might we take if shame didn\u2019t hold us back? What would it feel like to wake up and face the day with joy? Or, to walk in a room with confidence and not feel smaller than everyone else.<\/div>\n
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This emotion – shame – is the first, recorded, negative emotion that shows up after the first sin. Wow! Shame invaded this world from the beginning. It was part of the enemies plan.<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n
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God told Adam and Eve they were free to help themselves to anything\u2014except fruit from one tree. The serpent convinced Eve to try it; she convinced Adam, and shame quickly swept in.<\/div>\n
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Instead of running to God to admit they made a mistake, they tried to hide and cover themselves up. They were ashamed\u2026they felt unworthy. They felt the pain of failure. You feel that, too.<\/div>\n
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How often have we done this. We make a mistake, and our instinct is to hide it. Or we\u2019re too embarrassed, ashamed, or prideful to admit to God and others that we messed up. So we boil in our shame, feeling alone and broken. We hide our pain and tears. We mask our true emotions.<\/div>\n
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Guilt says, \u201cEating that fruit was wrong.\u201d Shame, on the other hand, says, \u201cYou\u2019re bad because you ate that fruit. You will never be good enough. You could never be forgiven. You are a complete failure.\u201d<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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A sense of guilt can often be the gateway to repentance, strengthening our relationship with God. Shame keeps us stuck in sin, distancing us from God. Shame covers us in despair. It silenced us.<\/div>\n
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But when we follow Jesus, we don\u2019t have to live in shame. We can face our mistakes. We can rise above our emotions. Jesus\u2019 empty tomb is a resounding call for shame to come off of us. Just look at what Jesus did for us:<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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\u201clooking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.\u201d<\/div>\n
\u202d\u202dHebrews\u202c \u202d12\u202c:\u202d2\u202c \u202dKJV\u202c\u202c<\/div>\n
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Can you imagine how much shame Jesus endured as He faced that cross? He\u2019s naked, beaten beyond recognition, and about to die a very public, excruciating death. And yet He scorned the shame of the cross so that we could overcome shame once for all. Oh my, don\u2019t you feel like rejoicing!<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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That\u2019s why the answer to shutting down shame isn\u2019t hiding. It\u2019s not doing good things. It\u2019s not telling ourselves we\u2019re awesome. It\u2019s not ignoring our mistakes or compensating for them. It\u2019s not pretending to be okay.<\/div>\n
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The answer to shame is an empty grave. And when we focus less on what we\u2019ve done and more on who God is and what He\u2019s done for us\u2014we\u2019re on our way to conquering shame.<\/div>\n
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I am not bad. Because of Christ, I am forgiven. (Romans 8:1, John 3:17)<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n
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I am not broken. Because of Christ, try some of it I am loved. (John 3:16)<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n
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I am not enough, but Christ in me is more than enough. (Romans 8:37)<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n
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Whatever lie shame is telling you, shut it down with God\u2019s truth. Shut it down by remembering the empty grave. Shut it down by remembering the resurrection.<\/div>\n
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Today, I pray that shame is cast far away from you. I pray that you have the ability to rise up in forgiveness. I pray that you see yourself the way God sees you. You are not broken beyond repair. Grace has entered into your life. Be whole! Be free!<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Shame\u2026 we have all experienced it. It is the overwhelming feeling that our mistakes become our identity, that we will never recover from things that we have done or the things that were done to us. Shame hovers over every thought and every moment. Leaving us paralyzed in fear. What would our lives be like […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":8622,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1,35],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-8621","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-blog","category-elizabeth"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/shreveministries.org\/wp2\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/442393686_10228527743491661_19739924941580811_n-e1715993614832.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/shreveministries.org\/wp2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8621","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/shreveministries.org\/wp2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/shreveministries.org\/wp2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shreveministries.org\/wp2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shreveministries.org\/wp2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8621"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/shreveministries.org\/wp2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8621\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8623,"href":"https:\/\/shreveministries.org\/wp2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8621\/revisions\/8623"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shreveministries.org\/wp2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/8622"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/shreveministries.org\/wp2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8621"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shreveministries.org\/wp2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8621"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shreveministries.org\/wp2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8621"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}