"Shame on You!"

At some point in time nearly all of us have heard some variation on this devilish expression, whether at work, at home, in the marketplace... or God forbid! even in the Church. It is at the core a curse designed to make the hearer feel guilty and worth-less, and can be a self-fulfilling prophecy when spoken aloud (the creative power of the tongue).

A large part of why the world is in the mess it is comes from millennia of verbal diarrhea -- running off at the mouth.

Without a spirit of condemnation the human spirit is free to soar. Our own hearts are what really condemns us, yet Holy Spirit serves to comfort and justify us. For the uninitiated Justify = "Just as If I'd Never Done It."

Indeed, if you genuinely attempt to convince another person of worthlessness, that is a strong indicator that you really are not a bought-and-paid-for child of the Lord. Expletives fall into the same category, or as they are often called, "cuss words." STOP IT!

You cannot hate another human being and be as we Christians call "saved." We are called, commanded to love all mankind even when we hate some of the horrendous things they do. Our task is to build up, encourage, and lovingly correct.

Condemning is in fact the action of a hypocrite, for the condemn-er is guilty of falling short of the mark of the perfection of God as well. By the way, sin is accurately defined as violating the amount of the Light you have. In other words, you know better than to ____, that is wrong or harmful, therefore for you it is a sin.

Yet there is good news: there is no sin that has not been paid for and forgiven. The bad news is that for each of us it is not forgiven until we admit it, turn our backs on it in disgust, and accept that forgiveness.

In order to remain guilt-free and have confidence:

(1) Keep your faith in the cleansing power of the blood of Jesus the Christ;

(2) Continuously walk in the Light you have. Actually study the Word of God to know the parameters He has established, and within which you can live joyfully and secure.

"Well, yes, but after all I've said and done..." No, no, no. With the sacrifice of His Son, the shedding of His blood and the resurrection from the dead of Jesus, He has wiped the slate clean. Loving parents do not see their children as others see them, rather through the eyes of love and devotion. The same is true for our heavenly Father. Greater still, what He forgives He deliberately forgets.

So stop whacking yourself about the head and shoulders. As Jesse Duplantis says: "Admit it, quit it, then fergit it!"

Scripture References (verse indicated and those immediately following):

Matthew 5:22; John 8:10; Romans 8:1; Romans 8:33; Romans 10:9; Hebrews 2:9; Hebrews 11:16; 1 John 3:10