Sin as Shame

Lots of times we think of sin in terms of guilt: doing something wrong. However, one way that sin is coming to be understood by our culture is in terms of shame. For some, guilt does not convey the deep issues of sin as much as shame does because what is wrong in their lives is not so much what they've done but who they are. For the person who understands sin as shame, the phrase, "God loves the sinner, but hates the sin," doesn't mean anything because the sin they know is being who they are. If God hates sin, then God hates them. It's that simple. Of course, that is false! Unfortunately, the result is often isolation--if not physical isolation (like a hermit), then emotional and forms of social isolation. Yesterday I stayed home from church not because I had done anything wrong, but because I was sick. That can be the experience of sin for some: They stay away not because they've done something wrong, but because they are sick. As Christians it is our responsibility to think about the ways that we live out the good news that God heals all our diseases--even the disease of shame.