What Does the Bible say About Shame?

Jared:

Someone wants you to preach a five to 10 minute sermonette on shame.

Pastor David:

On shame. Okay. Hmm. Shame. It's interesting this question has come up. I was actually thinking about this.

Jared:

Really?

Pastor David:

Like a couple of days ago.

Jared:

There you go.

Pastor David:

I was thinking about how we always look at shame from the negative aspects of it. But I was thinking about it from the positive. Can you imagine there's a positive element to shame?

Jared:

Yes.

Pastor David:

So obviously shame at a general level, when shame destabilizes, disables, destroys. When shame modifies right actions, and we enter into self-destructive behaviors. When shame influences our approach to God, to where I'm unworthy. I'm undeserving.

Pastor David:

And I would suggest that unworthy and undeserving exists. The context is I'm letting shame dominate to where I can't accept or receive what God freely gives because of the shame. Whereas there is the positive element of shame in the sense of that if I have no embarrassment, if I have no sense of, "Wow, that was really bad. That was really wrong. How could I do that?" If that doesn't exist, will I ever come to repentance? Will I ever change my behavior.

Pastor David:

And so now God, doesn't shame us into positions. We shame ourselves. So the idea of shame is doing something we regret, doing something that embarrasses, humiliates us and our sensibilities. And it's usually how we relate to ourselves and the stuff that we are dealing with that causes that feeling or that response.