Man is, constitutionally, unable to handle guilt. It’s just not in our make-up to be able to handle well the feelings and edgy by-products of a guilty conscience. In the Psalms, David wrote, “When I refused to confess my sin, my body wasted away, and I groaned all day long. (See Psalm 32:3)”
Since the beginning of time, man has looked for ways to ease his conscience and, most often, that way has been found through blaming and criticizing others.
I can remember years ago listening to an abuser go on and on about how he would never hit a "good" woman. And yet he’d hit many woman.
One must conclude, then, that they must have all been "bad,” right?
Ummmm...No, not even hardly.
BUT...by deeming them “bad,” our friendly neighborhood abuser was able to justify himself by making their “badness” the cause of his violent behavior. After all, it wasn’t his fault; it was theirs. At least, in his estimation.
Ummmm...Yeah, sure man (or should I write, 'wimpy, little [fill-in-the-blank-with-colorful-metaphor]'), whatever you say. Of course it was THEIR fault—NOT!! Wake up and smell the iron bars, friend. A real man never hits a woman. EVER!! Hope you're enjoying the jail-time, dude.
We all do this kind of thing, though, don’t we? Well…maybe not as it relates to hitting another person, but the “principle” of the thing, if you will allow me to call it that, is at work in all of us…at least to a degree.
We yell at someone because he did something to irritate us.
We steal because someone stole from us.
We drink too much because our boss at work just can’t seem to let up—even a little bit.
THEY, whomever they might be, are the cause of our misdeeds, not us. :o(
Then there’s the "critical spirit" side to the guilt alleviation game.
I’m quite familiar with this part. Perhaps you are, too.
I've noticed that, if I'm uncomfortable with something about myself, all I need to do is just go out and find someone who’s failing or floundering in the same arenas of life I am and just give him or her the what-for—either in my mind, in-person, or behind his or her back. Doing the behind-the-back thing, though, can be especially tasty and satisfying, wouldn't you agree? Gossip is indeed a fabulous way to help us feel better.
For a while.
Until, of course, we begin to feel worse than we did before. For some reason, this kind of progression of things reminds me a lot of addictive behavior. Hmmmmm. I'm going to need to think about that one for a while.
Now...in writing the above about gossip, I want to make sure that I make a distinction between gossip and the sincere need someone might have to talk through a very real and difficult situation he or she might be facing in life. For many of us, the fear of being a gossip can keep us isolated and, as such, keep us from talking through a really difficult issue with someone we know cares for us. The aim of such a discussion might typically be to try and hone in on a solution or a positive course of action that might either improve the situation or enable us, with renewed confidence and joy, to bear up under it. Another "objective," if you want to call it that, might simply be our desire to be heard and, hopefully, understood by another. Such experiences, in and of themselves, can be quite liberating, encouraging, and life-giving. Gossip, however, rarely—if ever—includes such elements, let alone, deems them the central focus of the conversation.
Okay...back to just being critical of others. It's human nature to be the most critical of others in the areas where we’re the least accepting of ourselves. Have you seen this in yourself? I've certainly seen it in my own life...many times, in fact. If you don't mind, I'd like to suggest engaging in a little experiment in this particular area of our lives. Feel up to it? Yeah? Okay, then...
Over the next week or so, try to pay attention to the times when you’re criticizing or gossiping about others, and begin to look at those times as possible clues to the weak areas in your own life that you and God need to spend some time talking about. Just so you know, I'm going to engage in the same experiment right along with you. We'll talk about it, Lord-willing, after I get back from Haiti in a couple of weeks.
Okay…I'd like to return, now, to the whole issue of our inability to handle guilt and the problem we all have in not being able to gain a truly clear conscience...
I love the book of Hebrews. It’s one of those books in the New Testament that has this really cool kind of ancient-future thing going on, you know? I think it’s one of the most fascinating books in the Bible. Anyway, I’d like to draw from a passage in Hebrews Chapter 10...
“The law is only a shadow of good things that are coming—not the realities themselves. For this reason it can never, by the same sacrifices repeated endlessly year after year, make perfect those who draw near to worship. If it could, would they not have stopped being offered? For the worshipers would have been cleansed once for all, and would no longer have felt guilty for [or been conscious of] their sins. For those sacrifices are an annual reminder of sins, because it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins. (See Hebrews 10:1-4)”
I would like to argue that, if you are carrying around guilt, you’re probably still living under the law and not grace. Paul writes to this very thing in Romans…
“Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death. 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 do not live according to the sinful nature but according to the Spirit. (See Romans 8:1-4)”
When Jesus came, the law of sin and death was overcome by the law of the Spirit, and we were set free from sin. Jesus’ death accomplished what the blood of bulls and goats could never do: And that is, take away our sin…and, with that, our continued consciousness of our sin.
So I ask…are you carrying any guilt around with you? If you’re engaging in any forms of blame, criticism, or gossip, I would argue that, most likely, you are. I would like to argue, too, that the reason you’re carrying around so much guilt in your life is because you’re focusing in on the sin in your life and on your overarching desires to eradicate the really crappy feelings that arise from such sin. This is an instance where sin just continues to beget sin...almost akin to a feedback loop. We sin, feel horrible about it, and then try to do whatever we can (through blame, criticism, and gossip) to change how we're feeling about ourselves. Paul addresses these things in verses 5-7 in Romans 8…
“Those who live according to the sinful nature have their minds set on what that nature desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the spirit desires. The mind of sinful man is death, but the mind controlled by the Spirit is life and peace.”
Notice the distinction above between those who live in accordance with the sinful nature and those who live in accordance with the Spirit. Is not the distinguishing factor simply where the mind is focused? “The mind of sinful man is death, but the mind controlled by the Spirit is life and peace [ergo…freedom from guilt and disordered thoughts, and the enjoyment of a clear conscience]."
I'd like to introduce you to a very interesting scripture. Perhaps you've read it, but never really READ it. It’s in 1 Corinthians…chapter 15…verse 56…
Here's the way it reads...
“The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law.”
Isn’t that an interesting scripture? I think it’s just fascinating. Especially, the second part about the the power of sin being the law.
Think about that one for a moment: The power of sin is the law. The power of sin…that which give life to sin…that which gives energy to sin...is the law. I find that incredibly interesting, fascinating, and illuminating.
What it all says to me is this: The more you focus on what you should do and what you shouldn’t do and what you should have done and what you shouldn’t have done and how wrong you were to do this and how wrong you were to do that, you don’t overcome the sin in your life, you just give greater power and strength to it.
What did Paul urge the Corinthian believers to do? He urged them to set their minds on the things of the Spirit and NOT on themselves.
Man is very unique in his creation in that he’s never really done. Did you know that? You, my friends, are in a state of continuous creation. Is it not true that we are constantly growing, changing, and evolving? The thing I find most interesting is how this creation process occurs. The scriptures teach very clearly that we become like what we focus on, what we look at, and what we set our minds upon. This is the servo-mechanism of continuous creation that is at work within all of us. This is why the author of Hebrews commands us to “fix our eyes on Jesus, the Author and Perfector of our faith. (See Hebrews 12:2)” Where are we to fix our eyes? On ourselves? No! On our failures? No! On the sin in our lives? No! Our eyes are to be on Jesus, because He’s the Author and Finisher of our faith—not us. This is a big reason why I'm not the greatest proponent of living a life focused on obeying the commands of Christ. To me, that’s still a life lived under law. Our focus is to be on Jesus. We're to look upon Him. To behold Him. I, my friends, am convinced that beholding Jesus and choosing to become His apprentice through continual observation and imitation of Him will result in a life of obedience, as opposed to the other way around. Focusing on being obedient will, if we're really honest, result only in a life of legalism, frustration, and guilt. Focusing on obedience will not transform your life. Focusing on Jesus will. Here are two more scriptures that illustrate this point further…
“But we all, looking on the glory of the Lord, with unveiled faces, are transformed according to the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Lord the Spirit. (See 2 Corinthians 3:18)”
“Be imitators of God, therefore, as dearly loved children, and live a life of love, just as Christ loved us and gave Himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God. (See Ephesians5:1-2)”
So…the key to alleviating a guilty conscience is, quite simply, the focusing of our hearts and minds on Jesus and not on ourselves or our sin. Jesus, the Author and Perfector of our faith, has taken away our sins, and He's working within us to give us the desire and ability to please Him (See Philippians 2:13). And He'll keep right on working in us and through us until He's completed what He started. How does that old scripture read? Again, Paul hits the nail right on the head: “Being confident of this, that He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion, until the day of Christ Jesus. (See Philippians 1:6)” That, my friends, is the hope we have in Jesus in THIS life, not just in the life to come. The really cool thing, too, is that, with the clearing of our consciences, blame, criticism, and gossip disappears just about completely, AND one of the most dearly loved fruits in Paul’s nine-fold list in Galatians 5 emerges in it's wake: And that's the fruit of KINDNESS.
I want to be a kind person in life, don't you? But let's not make that our focus, okay? Instead, let's keep our eyes on Jesus, and let Him do all the cool stuff He's so good at doing to cultivate and grow such things in the garden of your life and mine.
Peace-out, y'all,
Bling
