Day 15 "The Scapegoat For Our Shame"

Alan Wright, in his book Free Yourself Be Yourself, cites two reasons for suc-ceeding in life: 1)The fear of falling short, being rooted in the desire for acceptance; and, 2) Seeking to make a contribution, being rooted in a life that is whole and looking to make a difference in the world. I believe that most of us, if given a choice, would like to use our lives to make a positive contribution to the world and help make it a better place for everyone. The problem is that for a lot of us, we are so preoccupied with our own personal baggage and enmeshed in the darkness of the shame we carry, that it makes it difficult to rise above the constant voices of personal failure and self-criticism that we hear inside. My mother once remarked to my brother and I, "It's tough to remember what your original intent was when you're up to your neck in alligators."

The concept of shame is worth understanding and volumes have been written for our betterment. Suffice it to say, shame is a destructive force that prevents us from living a life free from condemnation. Most people think of shame as something we regret having done and wish we could take back. But shame can be even more destructive and sinister upon us when we unknowingly and unfairly take on the shame of others as our own, like from our parents. Either way, shame deprives us living freely in the moment, instead shackling us to a constant barrage of self-criticism. "You're no good, you're the worst of the unlikables!" we find us saying to ourselves. The tragedy is that we too often give credence and credibility to these voices. Several of the classic signs of shame is firstly, over-reacting defensively to the things we encounter and, secondly, wanting to withdraw into the darkness where we can avoid interaction with others.

The definition of shame as found in the Merriam-Webster Dictionary is as follows:

1 a: a painful emotion caused by consciousness of guilt, shortcoming, or impropriety b:

the susceptibility to such emotion 2 a condition of humiliating disgrace or disrepute 3 a: something that brings censure or reproach; something to be regretted b: a cause of feeling shame

By the definition alone, it's pretty easy to see how destructive shame can be upon our lives. The world has its own ways to deal with it. For some of the people, they turn to such things as drugs, alcohol, and other additive actions to anesthetize their self-condemning voices. Others have medicines like anti-depressants prescribed to take the edge off of their depression- often a symptom of shame- making life a little easier to bear. Some choose to play the blame card and try diverting their shame unto others, always seeing themselves as the victim, seldom taking responsibility for their own actions. In return, walls are built up and relationships suffer. While, still others continue to languish and suffer in the shadow of their shame denying its existence or ignorant of its presence. From a mindset that just has this world as a point of view, that believes that there is no God, one can hear the consistent proclamation, "If something is to be, then it is up to Me."

But there is another way, more satisfying and fulfilling! It is the pathway established by faith, orchestrated by God's love and mercy, forgiveness and grace. The methodology for dealing with shame in God's economy is much different than the world's course of action. In the world the responsibility for such removal of shame and personal baggage is left up to us, whereas under God's control and authority, God desires for us to surrender such things to Him and allow Him to assumes the responsibility and bear all the weight of our shame and defectiveness upon Himself. God desires for us to be burden free.

"Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my

yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will

find rest for you souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light." Matthew 11:28-30

Much like sin in our lives that separate us from God, our reconciliation with God is dependent and provided for us by God sending his Son to die on the cross to bear the penalty for all of our sins. Likewise, He has also made a provision for our shame. The answer is the same. Jesus came not only to take away our sins, but also to take away all

our shame. Thus, there are two important questions that Alan Wright raises in his book Free Yourself Be Yourself for our overall health:

What must I do to be saved?

and

What do I need to do to be healed?

In the Old Testament section of the Bible, you will find how God provided answers and direction to the nation of Israel for the two questions above. In the sixteenth chapter of Leviticus we read that God's provision came through two goats. One, chosen by lot, was to be sacrificed as a sin offering, an atonement, on behalf of all the sins of Israel. The other goat was to have hands laid on it and confess over it all the wickedness and rebellion of the Israelites. This goat was then to be released into the wilderness to be beheld by man no more. Such actions was designed to take away both our guilt and shame, to free us from all condemnation. These two actions were to be performed annually on the "Day of Atonement,"

But God had even a much greater provision for all of mankind, not just for the nation of Israel. Jesus, himself, the only Son of God, came to Earth in the form of a man and was crucified on the cross, unblemished and free from sin, to completely absolve man of his sins and reconcile him back into a relationship with God. Jesus' death, did for us what all the annual sacrifices could not do, take away our sins for all eternity and truly set us free.

"For what the law was powerless to do in that it was weakened by the sinful nature,

God did by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful man to be a sin offering. And

so He condemned sin in sinful man, in order that the righteous requirements of the

law might be fully met in us, who live not according to the sinful nature but according

to the Spirit." Romans 8:3-4

"If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. 1 John 1:9

And through Christ, we get two for the price of one. In other words, not only did Jesus die on our behalf to take away our sin, but his death also established him as our scapegoat, the bearer of our shame.

"So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed." John 8:36

"Wait!" cries the world,"this is all a sham, nothing but a crutch to lean on!" And from a worldly perspective, one could argue a strong case in agreement and why so many references to God have been removed from our view. If there is no God, then we are left on our own. But the resurrection of Christ changes all that! Either Christ was a defrauder, delusional, or who He claimed to be. Take a look at the argument found in 1 Corinthians 15 in the New Testament. Look at the world around you left to its own devices. Then I invite you to read the Gospel of John, Romans, and Hebrews. You decide for yourself. I can testify, personally, that my faith in Christ has brought me hope and anticipation that there is more to come after this life. And where there once was fear and anxiety, they have since been replaced with love and peace.

"As for me and my household, we will serve the Lord."

Though God has provided his love and provisions, it is still up to you to receive and embrace them- that's what gifts are all about!

Make it a great day! See you tomorrow... "Carpe Momentum in Love."