SHAME: A COVER UP

So when the woman saw the fruit was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate, and she also give some to her husband, and he ate.  Then the eyes of both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves aprons.  And they heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden (Genesis 3:6-8).

Shame is a complex subject. In fact, some scholars will not even agree with my definition, which is based in Webster's dictionary definition.  Shame is a painful emotion characterized by feeling guilty, incompetent, blameworthy, indecent or worthless.  Adam and Eve felt guilty.

The manifestations of shame in a person's life are another reason that shame is a complex subject.  But, the basic manifestation of shame is covering up.  In German and in Latin, the root of the entomology of shame means, to hide or to cover.  That is an exact description of what Adam and Eve did in the attempt to deal with their shame.  Humanity has not changed much since creation; we still do bazaar things to deal with our feelings of shame.  We declare sin not to be sin, and still feel worthless.  We cover ourselves with designer clothing, all kinds of makeup, jewelery and tattoos all to show we are not worthless and to assuage our feelings of guilt.  Our narcissism and arrogance are other defense mechanisms used to mask our feelings of guilt.

I want to suggest some designer clothing that really does cover up shame: . . . for in Christ Jesus you are all sons of God, through faith.  For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ (Galatians 3:26-27).  Being sons of the King, we are clothed with the finest designer clothing there is because we are clothed with Jesus Christ.  Our worth and our pardon are established in the clothing of Jesus Christ because only he can cover our shame.

Our Father's Love,
Tom