Shame

Shame

 Noun: the painful feeling arising from the consciousness of something dishonorable, improper, ridiculous, etc., done by oneself or another

Verb:                       to publicly humiliate or shame for being or doing something specified (usually used in combination):

The first people who felt ashamed were Adam and Eve. In Genesis 2 it says that Adam and Eve were both originally naked, “but they were not ashamed.” God clothed them in righteousness then.

But after they disobeyed God, “…the eyes of both of them were opened, and they realized they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves. (Genesis 3:7).

Today, people are still in denial of their nakedness. We still sow our fig leaves and cover ourselves up with knowledge, money, fame, position, power, etc. Anything that can cover our nakedness. When we ask another person to love us, we ask that they may love us without the fig leaves that we wore. Because soon they will wither and wilt.

When we received Jesus Christ as our Lord and personal savior, we are once again clothed in righteousness. We are no longer naked in sin. Our sins are remembered no more. We are a new creation. The good news is, that’s all true. The sad news is, most people miss that point. We continue to sew fig leaves. All the sewing saps out the life out of us.

What about you? What kind of fig leaves are you sewing for yourself? Are you still ashamed that you are not yet as glamorous as the person you look up to? Are you still ashamed that you are not as smart as the person you admired? Are you still ashamed that you are not as eloquent as the other person? Those cover-ups are simply fig leaves. You are already clothed with righteousness. You don’t have those fig leaves to cloth you just so you won’t feel naked. You are not naked anymore. You are already clothed with Christ. That’s a huge difference. You don’t have to run after these things. They would follow you. The Bible said, “goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life and I dwell in the house of the Lord forever”.

What’s goodness? All the fig leaves that you wanted. Fame. Knowledge. Money. Glamour. Beauty.

What is love? The love that your heart craves for. The love that you hunger and thirst of. The love that makes you restless if without it. And we all have a love-hole our heart that only God can fill.

The bigger question is: are you chasing after goodness and love or are they following you? Their position in your life’s linear equation depends on whether you realize you’re still naked or clothed in Christ’s righteousness.