God's Gifts: Love, Hope, Freedom - Part 3

When my six-year-old daughter was told by her Sunday School teacher that it was a sin to be angry, she could have gone through life experiencing guilt each time she felt this emotion. Guilt can mar one's integrity and self-esteem. False guilt is created by a flawed belief system, such as believing that all anger is a sin and that punishment awaits those who feel or express it.

Little children growing up with guilt and shame seldom feel accepted. When they compare themselves to others, they consistently fail to measure up and may come to the conclusion that it's hopeless even to try to succeed. Can you see the relationship between false guilt and the damage it can do to one's integrity and self-esteem?

Yet there is hope. God sent his son Jesus to redeem you, to make you right with himself and others. Choose to believe God has the power to cleanse and heal you from whatever has wounded you. Guilt can be unrelenting, but the power of Christ Jesus in you breaks that hold and gives you freedom and peace. This is God's gift to you.  

God's Gifts: Love, Hope, Freedom - Part 2

After Bible study and worship service, I asked my daughter, a first grader, what she learned in her class that Sunday morning. "You must never be angry, for it's a sin to be angry," was her reply. She had learned something that isn't true, for God designed us to express this emotion. However when out of control and destructive, anger can be harmful and sinful.

To be restricted from sharing your thoughts and feelings with a loving, trusting intimate other is to smother the person God created you to be. Otherwise you're pretending to be something that's false. To come to the end of life without having been able to articulate what you think and feel, which is a very important need, would be a great loss.

To avoid this loss and the despair it creates, choose to accept the freedom and autonomy God makes possible through faith and trust in Christ Jesus. Jesus said that God "has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives." Integrity grounded in love for God, for others, and for oneself breaks the restraints of self-imprisonment. Jesus will help you do this.  

Motivation for Change - Part 1

Guilt is a good emotion because it questions not only our actions, but also our motives and attitudes. Guilt prompts confession, repentance, and the desire to be forgiven and to forgive others. So guilt alerts us of the need to make things right with others. Guilt in some people seems to be a never-ending feeling that taunts them without pity.

Relief from guilt can begin by connecting it to a particular situation or circumstance. For example, young children love to explore everything in their environment. If a child is berated or harshly punished just for being a child, guilt begins to be absorbed into their conscience. The child feels he or she is unable to please the parents, which allows guilt to flourish.

You can choose to reject unreal guilt by drawing near to God, who through Christ Jesus heals damaged emotions and cleanses the mind of thinking you're unacceptable. Real guilt is cleansed through confession, repentance, and forgiveness. Remember these strategies when real or false guilt surfaces to make your life miserable.