Tagged: shame

And a leper approached and bowed low before him, saying, “Lord, if you are willing, you can make me clean.” He stretched out his hand and touched him saying, “I am willing. Be clean!” Immediately his leprosy was cleansed. Matthew 8:2-4 The entire theology of honor is encapsulated in these three brief verses. Editors constantly urge writers to reduce their words; show, don’t tell. Be succinct, yet powerful. I rarely succeed. But Matthew did. Today his book is still a bestseller. All we need to know about honor and shame is here in this tiny tale: It is Jesus’ desire to make us clean, and He has all power to do so. Clean is another word for honor. My soul snags on this story, for I have… Read More

For R and C, and all who feel outside. So Jesus also suffered outside the gate in order to sanctify the people through his own blood.  Hebrews 13:12 He spoke quietly, gently.  We were always taught that the mzungu (white man) knew best. That his way was always better. So I felt shame when asked to lead. I remained quiet, afraid my opinions would not matter. Centuries of colonization left their indelible mark on his belief system:  You are an outsider. Less-than. Keep quiet. My Kenyan friend, a strong and gentle leader, felt outside even after being invited in. Shame silences too many gifted, intelligent, courageous world-changers. [bctt tweet="Are we who are so skilled at proclaiming the forgiveness of sins through Jesus Christ overlooking the… Read More

As he went along, he saw a man blind from birth. His disciples asked him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?”  “Neither this man nor his parents sinned,” said Jesus, “but this happened so that the works of God might be displayed in him. As long as it is day, we must do the works of him who sent me. Night is coming, when no one can work. While I am in the world, I am the light of the world.” John 9:1-5 In many parts of the world today, shame and blame still haunt the families of people born with disabilities. Nida and her family are just one example. Their story of shame and blame is excerpted… Read More

God seeks what has been driven away. Ecclesiastes 3:15 Hagar was driven away from her home (see Genesis 16). Her name, Hagar, carries the root in both Hebrew and Arabic that means to flee. For Christians, Muslims, and Jews, she has become a symbol of fleeing. Some might call her the mother of refugees. The God Who Seeks Those Driven Away pursued Hagar in the desert. Alone with her child, destitute, she believed death was imminent. How astonished she must have been to hear the voice of the Seeker, seeking her out, speaking wonderful words of hope and a future. Hagar, a bondwoman to God’s chosen family, was given the high privilege of naming God. She was the first person to give Him a new… Read More

And Jesus asked him, “What is your name?” Mark 5:9 “What's your name?” the kind man in the appliance department asked my eighteen-month-old daughter. Blonde curls framed her dimpled face and her blue eyes sparkled as she answered. “Fweetie.”  Fweetie was her version of the affectionate name we always called her: Sweetie. Unashamed of her name, she knew who she was: dear to her father and me, no matter how she pronounced it. Not everyone knows how precious they are. Too many call themselves by dishonorable names, names like Hopeless Case, Ugly, Unlovable. Shame has forced them into isolation and stolen the affectionate names they were given by the One who made them: Talented, Beautiful, Loved. Shame’s goal is to steal our name. Shame itself… Read More

You have made us a byword among the nations;     the peoples shake their heads at us. I live in disgrace all day long,     and my face is covered with shame… Rise up and help us;     rescue us because of your unfailing love. Psalm 44: 14, 15, 26 Shame is not a foreign concept limited to countries where women are hidden behind the hijab, men commit honor-killings, or children with disabilities are forced to leave the villages of their birth. At the time of this writing, shame has shrouded the United States. We are a shame nation and the world is watching. We see shame differently than almost two-thirds of the world. (See the Global Map of Culture types here.) Shame is not the primary lens through… Read More

Everyone was settling down for sleep, but the old woman had to talk to the teacher. What she’d heard tonight was earth-shattering. Mind-blowing. Life-changing. Filth removed, disgrace transformed to honor, rejected now accepted? The story of the sick woman and Jesus was unlike any of the stories told in her tribe. The flickering firelight deepened the rich, warm espresso of her wizened face as she leaned close to the storyteller. “Thank you.” Like the woman reaching her hand out to touch Jesus, she paused to gather her courage for the next words. “I always knew I could be forgiven. But I never knew I could be clean.” To learn more about this woman’s story and how you can be made clean, get your copy of… Read More

All day long I feel humiliated and am overwhelmed by shame.Psalm 44:15 Like a flood that creeps in overnight, flowing under doors and rising over baseboards, shame has come into our hearts and homes, invading the privacy of our most personal dwelling places. The introduction of smartphones and social media has brought convenience and benefit to our lives. We can now take passport photos on our phones and get them the same day at the local print shop. We can pass 'n play Scrabble with our kids while we wait in line at restaurants and track our Fantasy Football team minute by minute. But smartphones and social media have also made us extremely vulnerable. All this social networking and information at our fingertips has allowed… Read More

thanks, Edie Look towards him and shine with joy; no longer hang your heads in shame.Psalm 34:5, New English Bible Hello, readers. I am breaking tradition today and sending you this post a day early. According to the National Day Calendar, today is Save Your Photos Day. In a recent conversation with a friend, I was reminded of the power of shame to blot out our faces, to erase the photos where we once smiled and laughed. The photos where we belonged to a group of other smiling people, arms draped safely and comfortably around each other. Or the photos we didn’t take because we just didn’t think we were worth it. The first yearbook I remember receiving was in elementary school. I will never… Read More

I summon you by name and bestow on you a title of honor, though you do not acknowledge me (Isaiah 45:4). His name was Kakuna. In the chiDuruma language, kakuna can mean many things, including, “I don’t have,” or “there aren’t any. ” In this boy’s case, Kakuna meant Nobody. I had often seen Kakuna on the edge of the crowds of children that clamored around our house each afternoon. He never drew near. That is until the morning I found him asleep on our front porch. Dressing the world in fresh colors of lemony sunshine, the light dawned quietly over his sleeping form. He lay unmoving, oblivious to the rustlings of women making early trips to the nearby water spout. I leaned down and… Read More