Strange but true: wallowing in guilt = insult to God

So often we struggle with guilt because we feel guilt brings about a lowly and contrite spirit within us, one that feels humble, and yielding to God. But many of us who have struggled with guilt quickly find ourselves in a “me focused” reality, instead of a “God focused” reality.

We focus on our sins, and our past, more than God’s power, and God’s grace, and God’s patience. What’s more, by clinging to guilt when Jesus preaches a message of freedom, we actually enter a territory where we begin to insult God. 

As Romans 2:4 asks “…do you show contempt for the riches of God’s kindness, forbearance and patience, not realizing that God’s kindness is intended to lead you to repentance?” 

When we read this same verse, expanded, with some definitions of the original language, it comes across even stronger.

Do you show
contempt (kataphroneó - a hostile and active insult, to belittle as insignificant)
for the
riches (ploutous - flowing abundance of excellent things)
of God’s
kindness (chréstotés - a goodness that meets the need in gentle way)
forbearance (anoché - a mercy that holds back judgment)
and
patience (makrothumia - to have anger that you hold back over time)
not realizing that God’s
kindness (chréstotés - a goodness that meets the need in gentle way) 
is intended to
lead (agó - to arrest and re-direct)
you to
repentance (metanoia - to change your way of thinking)

When we develop a mindset that guilt can bring us to repentance, according to this verse, we show a belittling and hostile insult to a loving and gentle God who is showing us grace. It’s a way of saying that this grace isn’t really there. That God isn’t really giving love instead of judgment.

Any of us can get caught up in a “worst case scenario” view of our walk. We think we’re playing it safe, and taking every precaution, by assuming the worst of what consequences might occur as a result of our behavior, all as a way of manipulating ourselves into acting right. 

But in the end, we end up assuming the worst about God. Moreover, we fail to go to Him to receive the strength we need to live out his commands, which is not only more effective than guilt games, it is the ONLY effective way of living out those commands. Guilt simply won’t get the job done.

God has declared that you are guilty, and His Son has paid for ALL of it. If you’ve received that payment and the total forgiveness that comes with it, clinging to the emotion of guilt makes no sense, and far from being a “safe” way of looking at yourself, we can see it’s dangerous and destructive. It may already be causing you immense pain in your spiritual life, even as you read this.

The guilt-based thinking itself may the thing you need to repent of.

God’s gentle kindness stops us in our tracks, grabs us, and turns us around. Living in the full light of that love and forgiveness means that whatever sin we’re chasing is just not worth it, it means that God has better waiting for you at home. It’s His kindness that will turn you around.

Thought of the Day:

Did you ever feel like you had a moral obligation to fill when it came to something very important?

I disliked that feeling at first. I tried to oppress it by thinking about other things. The more I tried to turn away from it, the more this responsibility nagged, nagged, and nagged. I gave up after a while.

I sort of figured I could benefit from something like this.