July 30, 2000
When It's A Shame Not To Be Ashamed!
By: Dan Gulley
Genesis 3:7 records the first attempt at a "cover-up" in recorded history. That verse tells us that after Adam and Eve got themselves into a jam by eating forbidden fruit, " ... they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves coverings." To their credit, Adam and Eve felt a sense of shame after they had shamelessly disobeyed God and eaten of the forbidden tree of the knowledge of good and evil. God patiently sought them out in spite of their sin and rebellion and lovingly made tunics of skin and clothed them. But Adam and Eve's sin, like all sin, came at a high cost. They lost access to the garden paradise of Eden, and even more importantly they lost access to the fellowship of God when He sent them out of the garden of Eden (Genesis 3:20-24).
There are times when it's a shame for human beings not to be ashamed. Jeremiah 6:15 describes a culture that was in a rush to do away with the blush- "Are they ashamed of their loathsome conduct? No, they have no shame at all; they do not even know how to blush." Jeremiah was shocked and ashamed at a nation that had lost its sense of shame. But Jeremiah's problem is now our own. America is experiencing her own rush to hush the blush. On every hand we see and hear of behavior that only a generation ago was considered loathsome, illegal, illogical, irreverent, and immoral. We've come a long way since the days of Adam and Eve and the embarrassment they felt at having disobeyed and sinned against God.
These days sin is out loud, and proud. Sin has come out of the closet and back alleys where it used to operate under the cover of darkness and secrecy. Now sin struts its stuff right down Main Street. Sin is pumped into the homes, heads, and hearts of millions of Americans via TV, the Internet, music, magazines, and movies. Like it or not, we live in a society where millions are increasingly unashamed of loathsome conduct and are unable or unwilling to blush.
Ephesians 5:12 reminds us that "it is shameful even to speak of those things done by them in secret" The greatest shame connected with sin is not that we commit it. Romans 3:23 assures us all have sinned. The greatest shame connected with sin is when we sin and are not ashamed. Jesus died to rid us of the shame of sin. Don't feel ashamed if you feel shame when you sin. Feel ashamed if you don't.
Summitted..