We have all head that pride comes before the fall. We've also heard that all are guilty and have fallen short of the glory of God. But fear and shame? They are from the enemy if you are a Christian. Though if you aren't a believer and have Jesus as your Savior, you might be feeling the Holy Spirit pricking your spirit. Sounds complex. But they will all come together. The forces that are "out there" pull us in many different directions. They are from the world and the devil. The forces from God pull us in one direction...the Cross. See the difference? Pride, guilt, fear and shame can serve positive and negative in our lives. I'd like to say that I've always been one to err on the side of God's direction but then that would be lying and I would be prideful of something that isn't so, guilty that I had done so and fear that I would be found out and of course personal shame for being so wrong. We can take these four adjectives and make them what we want. If we want them then all we need to do is practice them. If we don't want them all we need to do is change the focus and look to the Cross.
Living the Christian life is something that we have voluntarily done so that we can have a relationship with the living God. We are not ashamed of the Gospel that gives us hope, faith and eternal life with God. We can say that we are proud of what we have done for Jesus but that is sin. It was the Holy Spirit working through you and I. We can say that we are no longer guilty...until we sin again. We are unable to go through a day without sin. We are imperfect and being righteous is something God can grant when our sins are forgiven. Then there is fear. FEAR stands for "false evidence appearing real". The Word (and God) tell us that perfect love casts out all fear. Fear isn't to be part of the Christians life. And shame...now where could that have come from? From you, I and everyone else when we do what we know we shouldn't do. When we sin we should feel shame. Only God can remove that shame when we acknowledge our sin to him and ask for forgiveness. These four adjectives carry a lot of punch for the Christian. While they are and can be used for discipline and instruction, the enemy prowl about the earth using them to bring about our downfall and to throw them in our path so that we stumble in our faith.
In my book, "While I Was Yet Sinning" I talk about how we allow our past feelings of pride, guilt, fear and shame hinder us from presenting the Gospel to those around us. The enemy wants us to feel like we are unworthy and unforgiven so that we won't tell others about Jesus. The book is filled with stories about those who have found themselves in the same place as I where our personal lives have caused us to think we were no longer qualified to share the Gospel. The truth is that it's only when we KNOW that we are not qualified because we are not believers that we are not qualified. When you are a believer you are qualified to share what Jesus has done for you. Paul said that we should always be ready to give an account of the hope that is within us. Jesus said the same thing. We will be denied if we deny him. Simple. Not quite. We do need to know Jesus first and foremost. From there our lives become all about Jesus and not Steve. Remember it's always your choice.
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