Thoughts on Shame

When Paul writes In chapter one of Romans that he is not ashamed, as I discussed last week, he's making a very bold statement.

Let's talk about shame. According to the dictionary, shame Is defined as the "painful Feeling arising from the consciousness Of something dishonorable, improper, ridiculous." A friend once told me that shame is a feeling of,"I am wrong, therefore I am innately wrong, I.e., created wrong." Compare that to guilt, which is a God-given gift of the Holy Spirit to steer our daily course of direction.

Shame, however, is not God-given. It's man-driven. We see shame used as a tool of religion, all the time, through the centuries. I'm not an expert on Jewish history or relations, but it would be easy to imagine that Jews during Paul's time would have completely shunned him, trying to use shame to "get himself right."

So it's a bold statement for Paul to assert that he is NOT ashamed. No one was going to put that shame on him. No one was going to force him away from Christ. No amount of danger, physical, emotional, anything, would change his mind.

Shame is a powerful motivator. But not a healthy one. It's not easy to assert oneself, to stand up and say, no matter what, I'm staying on this path. I'm doing what's right, what I'm called to do. And at this point, Paul is challenging the beliefs of the Jews. Not only is he preaching and teaching the gospel, this gospel of Jesus Christ, but he is offering holiness to the Gentile! To the Greek! To the non-Greek!

To rise above shame takes courage. Honor. Power. Paul tapped into the power of the Holy Spirit to rise above the opinion, threat, and dishonor that his background threatened. He lived according to God's power, not his own.

That's the only way to rise above shame.