Shame should Not Be Equated With Humility

Sometimes shame shouts so loud, it upstages humility! Often humility and shame are linked together like a ball and chain by people who think they know what God is about. Humility is joyful; it is exciting and powerful. When true humility exists in the human heart, it outshouts and blows up nasty, sneaky dark thoughts.

I sought the LORD, and he heard me, and delivered me from all my fears. They looked unto him, and were lightened: and their faces were not ashamed. Psalm 34:4-5

It is the conscience or 'knowledge from the Word of God within one's self' that should guide us, not shame. Shame says "I am stupid, guilt says "I did something stupid" and "conscience says I should be doing this instead which is more beneficial than how I behaved."

Now go read all of Psalm 34, it makes you want to dance and sing!!!! It is fun not to feel shame or any other feeling that engenders self-loathing. There is so much in those verses. We have so much to be thankful for!

Discerning Truth and Error

We all hold certain life experiences, learning and opinions that accumulate in our thinking through the years. As we grow older and hopefully wiser, we can be a resource for others to help them along if they need wisdom and understanding. And hopefully as we grow older we never cease to learn more ourselves and that we never get to the place where we think we have all the answers. Not growing and learning is so boring at any age!

There are so many opinions in the world. We are all assigned the task of discerning truth from error. As I got older I realized clearly that choosing the Word of God as a source for life issues was very important. It still is. Not only do things get clearer, they grow brighter and sparklier. Shedding light on darkness, fear and depression is a big first step to kissing these things good-bye. Darkness is not a "dear old friend".

We all have to have to filter out the bad from the good. Many choose the consensus to evaluate things, but that does not really separate the good from the bad and certainly not the best from the good.  So much depends on the quality of the consensus. Often evil comes at us disguised as good, although lately it has shown up boldly without a mask. Humans can be deceived and deception is dangerous. We need to be able to draw back the curtains in life. We are not sheep. God has given us so much more in the New Testament. When we keep God in our conversations we learn so much more about living a life that is meaningful and not just following an 'ism' for the sake of following an 'ism' or a cause because it is popular.

I prefer the 'clear eyed' approach and that is what I get when I trust and go to God's Word. I also like being around people that are humble to the creator of this beautiful universe who have matured a bit  spiritually in discerning truth from error. Discerning truth from error comes as we mature in Christ.

The Bible is not supposed to be just an aid to our worship of God. It is the path to 'life in its fullest' experiences. The events in the Old Testament are about life not just commandments.  If you look at the Bible merely as a rulebook, you miss out on truly understanding the love God has for us.