Glory

Like guilt, shame is a universal experience. But what is shame?

Vocabulary.com says, "Shame is a painful feeling that's a mix of regret, self-hate, and dishonor... When you feel shame, you feel like a bad person."

Psychologist Annette Kämmerer writes, "We feel shame when we violate the social norms we believe in. At such moments we feel humiliated, exposed and small and are unable to look another person straight in the eye. We want to sink into the ground and disappear. Shame makes us direct our focus inward and view our entire self in a negative light."

Whatever the reason, in shame, we feel unacceptably worthless and isolated from others. Some of the recommended responses to shame are self-acceptance and self-compassion. I agree, but how? I don't want to practice self-deception. Do I have to fool myself to feel better?

As we consider God's approach to shame, we need to reconsider our starting point. The theologian Dr. Te-li Lau explains that in the New Testament, shame is the appropriate response to behavior that is contrary to the gospel. How else should we evaluate ourselves when we realize that our lives are dishonorable in God's sight?

**So, what hope is there for creatures that are rightly ashamed of themselves? Dr. Lau writes, "If sin results in shame, justification results in glory."**

How can we not only accept ourselves but experience glory? It is the work of God, as the Spirit of the Lord fills our spirits. God loves us so much that he enables us to behold God's glory! Further, God transforms our very selves to be glorious as we become like Christ.

**This is God's answer to our shame: he makes us new and fills us with his glory!**

What response is appropriate to God bestowing his honor upon us? First, to rejoice! What a priceless gift! If God has made us glorious, we have more than enough encouragement to practice self-acceptance and to accept one another in Christ.