Shame is one of the most powerful weapons in our enemy’s arsenal, and he not only uses it well, but he uses us in it. Whether we’re talking to ourselves or to someone else or about someone else, the language of shame seems to come naturally to all of us.
“I can’t believe they…”
“What an idiot…”
“You did what????”
I’m the first to admit that I struggle with this, and one reason I know I struggle with it is because, even as I typed those examples, I wondered if it was really that big of a deal.
It is, and I was reminded of how Jesus handled these types of situations.
He shielded the woman caught in adultery from the shame of the crowd, and covered her first with fabric and then with compassion and truth.
He spoke words of restoration to Peter after Peter had spoken words of denial about him.
In John 20, instead of shaming Thomas for wanting more proof, he brought the proof to Thomas.
The results? An adulterer who got up to sin no more, a denier who became a great defender, and a doubter who became a believer.
[Tweet “When the enemy shames us, Jesus reclaims us.”]When the enemy shames us, Jesus reclaims us.
He does it by bringing into the light the very things that the enemy convinces us to keep in the dark. Just like mold grows in damp places, shame grows in dark places. Today, let the light in and see how things change.
