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Here is one word I hate: GUILT! Oh, how I hate that word. My life has been hounded with guilt. Why?
- Because of my past.
- Because many people think I’m nicer than I really am.
- Because I don’t live up to my own expectations.
- Because I automatically accept blame.
- Because I’m not the perfect wife or mother or sister or friend.
- Because I teach more than I live.
- Because women are easy targets for guilt.
How long a list would you like? And I’m certain you could add some guilt of your own. There are few days in our lives that are guilt-free, and for far-too-many of us, our days are filled with guilt.
Life under a load of guilt is not the abundant life that Jesus came to give us. Guilt steals our joy, hinders our productivity, interrupts our peace, harms our relationships, and worst of all, makes us self-focused. Yet many of us continue to live with guilt because we feel guilty if we don’t feel guilty! Little wonder that the enemy of our souls, Satan himself, wields this weapon of guilt so broadly and with such effectiveness.
Guilt is both a fact and a feeling. It is possible to be guilty without feeling guilty. It is possible to feel guilty without being guilty. And obviously, it is possible to be guilty and feel guilty. No doubt you have experienced all three conditions.
However, feeling guilty when we are not guilty is false guilt caused by wrong thinking, and that’s what I want to talk about this week.
It is not God’s will for us to live in guilt. Galatians 5:1 says, “It is for freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm, then, and do not let yourself be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.” Living with false guilt is living with a yoke of slavery. It’s time we start refusing to submit to the yoke of guilt. But maybe you’re thinking, that is easier said than done.
Of course it’s easier said than done! What isn’t? But it is possible to learn to live without constant debilitating guilt! We have power to do it because we have God’s Spirit in us, if we have been born from above into God’s family.
[Mary has written a book on this topic and it’s on sale this month. Click here for more information about Why Do I Always Feel Guilty?]