Guilt

I had another conversation tonight with someone who believed that guilt was God working in their life.  It’s unbelievable how we’ve missed the boat with this and it was awesome to share the truth with them! 

When you begin to see that guilt is based on pride, it clears up so much of the conversation.  This idea that I’ve done something wrong and so now I need to feel bad about it not only flies in the face of what Jesus did on the cross but it’s simply not logical.  We sin all the time.  The idea that now you’ve done something that God is upset about is a small view of sin.  Do you think he would be less upset about the four small lies you told today or the way you lost your temper in the car on the way to work? What makes you think that this is the one sin that God hates?  God hates all of our sin.  If you’re going to feel guilty you would have to feel guilty constantly. 

Guilt is based on the idea that I was good enough earlier for God to love me but now I’ve done something to make Him mad.  Now there is something in the way.  It’s pride.  You were never good enough to have a relationship with God.  You were never good enough for God to love you.  The only way you can have a relationship with God is through grace.  And grace either covers all your sin or none of your sin.  Either you are going to have to pick up you guilt level and realize you sin a lot more than you thought, or you’re going to have to accept that you never were good enough, you still aren’t good enough, and you’re not going to be good enough.  When you accept that you can go to God through grace and it’s there that you find freedom and begin to experience victory in those battles against sin.  There is no place for pride so there is no place for guilt.