He is relentless. Unstoppable. And he seems to turn up just about everywhere at just the wrong time. I'm talking about my nemesis—and yours: Shame.
He’s the voice that accuses you.
He’s two shots of Red Bull—at midnight.
He’s the one who remembers every detail of every regret you’ve tried to forget.
He's the broken record whispering your faith is too small, your prayers are too short, and your guilt is too great.
That’s Shame. And he’s been on the trail—your trail—for a long time.
Shame has many brothers and sisters. Unless I'm mistaken, you've met fear, resentment, and jealousy. Many siblings. But they all have one father: the father of lies.
In his allegory, Pilgrim’s Progress, John Bunyan shares this slice of conversation between Christian and Faithful who have just met with Shame on a journey to the Celestial City:
Shame tells me what men are. But he tells me nothing about what God or the Word of God is. …Therefore, what God says is best…though all the world is against it.
Faithful then makes this bold demand:
Shame, depart—thou art an enemy to my salvation.
Shame is an enemy to your salvation, too, and will leave if commanded in the name of Jesus. But rest assured, Shame will be back. As Faithful remarks in Pilgrim’s Progress, “Indeed this Shame was a bold villain. I could scarcely shake him out of my company.”
But shake him we must.
And shake him we can.
But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
-1 Corinthians 15:67