The Shame of It All
A little deception has gone a long way, hasn’t it 
The old deceiver has gotten a lot of mileage out of the shame tactic and it saddens my heart to know that it is still one of his most successful tricks. As I see it, we are victims of circumstance. As a result of the sin of Adam and Eve, we are cursed with a natural tendency of sin and shame. It is part of our makeup. It is part of who we are. I was reminded the other day of the power of shame by something that happened when my little boy and I were working around the house 
My little boy is a “man’s man.” He loves to “help” with any project involving tools. This particular day, I was sanding some spots on the walls that had been spackled, preparing them to be painted. Griffin, of course, had to have his own sandpaper. Since he was doing an excellent job, I went to work on another spot behind the couch 
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As I pulled the couch from the wall, I noticed a piece of broken red plastic. Since Griffin was so busy, I decided not to distract him with questions about my discovery. Pulling the couch out further from the wall, I saw Griffin’s fireman’s mask, broken 
. I had to say something to him about it. “Griffin,” I said, “Your fireman’s mask is broken.” He answered without looking at me, “Yea, I know.” I couldn’t believe his reaction. This was one of his most favorite toys. Since he did not want to discuss it, I decided to let it go. We continued to work.
A few minutes later the Holy Spirit prompted me with the word shame. I realized my Griffin had broken his mask and hidden it from me. I had him crawl up in my lap to talk about what had happened to his mask. Without looking in my eyes, he confessed that he had broken the mask 
. I asked him why he put the mask under the couch. He said, “Because I did not want you to see it.” He had done something wrong and was ashamed. I assured him that he could always come to me when he had done something wrong. I encouraged him to never hide truth from me in fear that I would not love him anymore or that I would not forgive him 
I did not have to teach my son shame; he was born with it, just like you and me. Well, we don’t have to be victims anymore. Praise God 
The penalty that Jesus paid on Calvary assures of this: shame doesn’t have to define us or bind us. God sent His Son so that we might have a life of abundance and freedom. 2 Peter 1:3 says, “According as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue:”
The key to our freedom is knowledge of Him. Our knowledge of Him gives us power and this power helps us choose not to live in the bondage of shame 
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Just like Griffin, you do not have to be ashamed of what you have done. You never have to hide the truth from God in fear that He will not love you anymore or that He will not forgive you. Crawl up in His lap, experience His tender loving care, and accept His forgiveness 
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By: Wendy Pope, Crosswalk.com
