No Shame

 

“For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.”

—Romans 1:16

A favorite pastime of Millennials—at least as judged by observation—is to respond to information with which they do not agree by attempting to shame the individual who has expressed the unacceptable opinion. Some adults have picked up this behavior, as well. You can observe this shaming by watching any of the popular political pundits’ TV shows.

Once someone says something or does something, prompting an individual or group of individuals to feel that such an opinion or decision is offensive or incorrect, the individual or group turns on the person offering the unacceptable opinion and attempts to make statements intended to shame that person into retracting or significantly modifying the expressed opinion. And, the emphasis here is clearly on feelings, since facts and factual information appear to play no part in these transactions.

If, for example, someone advances his or her carefully reasoned and scientifically based belief that human activity in no way affects climate, that one quickly becomes a target for shaming. How can that one possibly disagree with such a popularly held opinion—an opinion that has become so very important as a means to redistribute the higher income of the more prosperous nations on earth to those nations less prosperous? Doesn’t that one realize the harm we prosperous humans have done to the pristine mother earth?

Or, if someone expresses his or her carefully reasoned opinion that people have broken the law by either entering the United States without the proper documentation, or by overstaying the terms of their visas in order to continue to live here, again without the proper documentation, that one might as well gear up for a major shaming. Doesn’t that one realize that we should welcome all those less fortunate than ourselves? Doesn’t that one understand that the immigration laws are wrong and should be disobeyed?

The point is that we have become a place where shame rules so much of what we think, say, and do. We cringe that we might become an object of shame. How very sad.

As a teenager, I was goofy enough with regard to my joy at belonging to Jesus that I carried my bright-red Youth for Christ Bible on the top of my school books. I am keenly aware that carrying that Bible did not make me a better Christian. But it did help remind me, when I was tempted to be more of a jerk than I usually am, that I was Christ’s representative. I think that Bible helped me refrain from trying to fit in with people with whom I would never ever have fit in anyway.

I also learned an important lesson by carrying that Bible every day of high school. I learned that I need not be ashamed of my strong Christian beliefs. By the time I became an adult, I had lost all concern I might have had about whether anyone knew that I was a follower of Jesus. Thus, when asked, I openly gave God credit for every bit of the success I enjoyed in my professional career.

There were times when being that open about my faith—but never pushy—made others turn away from me. But, my openness also encouraged some other individuals to become more serious about their faith.

We should never be ashamed of what God has so graciously done for us by saving us from our sins through the death and resurrection of His precious Son, Jesus. We should join with the Apostle Paul in declaring, as he did, in Romans 1:16:

For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.

“Believers will strengthen their faith when they decide to have no shame regarding what God has done in their lives.” That’s my key sentence for this blog post.

As we step out into a new day, let’s remember whose we are. Let’s determine to never be ashamed of our Christian faith. We don’t need to act obnoxiously. But, we do well when we acknowledge what God has done without any shame. With great joy and full confidence, we can follow in the footsteps of the Apostle Paul.

“Believers will strengthen their faith when they decide to have no shame regarding what God has done in their lives.”

 

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