Shame, Is That You?

Shame, shame, go away, come back … NOOOO OTHAAA DAY! Lol.

Funny story: So, I’m Jamaican and one of the most common phrases they use is “Yuh nuh have nuh shame?” Translation: You don’t have any shame? To give you some context, this phrase is used when a person does something disgraceful toward themselves or their family.

What is shame? According to the oxford dictionary it’s a painful feeling of humiliation or distress caused by the consciousness of wrong or foolish behavior.

Shame has robbed me of my freedom in Christ a few times. I lived my life walking in shame almost every day. I’m an overthinker, so I allowed my perception of what I believed others thought of me to be true. I kept looking over my shoulder and couldn’t be myself. I allowed my mistakes to play before me and chose not to look past it. I told myself “This is what you deserve for what you did.” I was stuck and couldn’t move. Life was passing me by, and I became frustrated. I didn’t understand why everyone else had the ability to live. One of the hardest things to deal with is the opinion of others about your mistakes. People will make you feel like the worst person in the world, which adds to the weight you already feel.

I couldn’t embrace God’s grace because of my shame. I told myself “After doing THAT, there’s no way he loves me the same.” I expected the Lord to treat me, the way I treated myself. I didn’t see a way out, I believed suffering emotionally was my portion because of my mistakes.

Then, I stumbled on a scripture in Romans (which is HIGH KEY, ONE OF MY FAVS. PAUL IS THE HOMIE). “There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the spirit” Romans 8:1. You know what this means? Because WE ARE IN Christ, shame is NOT our portion.

Rest in his promises and remind yourself YOU HAVE VICTORY OVER SHAME BECAUSE OF JESUS.

Love y’all, talk to you soon!

C-A. Brown