Tag: True guilt

GUILT – OUR WORST ENEMY OR OUR BEST FRIEND

How to Get Rid of Guilt

“If you have guilt in your life, just get rid of it so you can get on with your life,” stated a vice president of a midwestern state university, giving a pep talk to faculty about life and careers. Although this high-ranking official recognized how detrimental guilt can be in our lives, she did not mention repentance as a way to get rid of it.

None of us like to feel guilty – the realization or belief that we have done something wrong, and the feeling that we will suffer consequences for our actions. And yet we will all experience guilt in our lives because of our fallen, sinful nature – our propensity to sin and our inability to keep the law perfectly. Thanks to Jesus, we can become free of guilt, but we must be able to distinguish between TRUE GUILT and FALSE GUILT.

We experience TRUE GUILT when we commit true sin, because the Holy Spirit convicts us of that sin – an offense against God and probably our fellow man. When we repent, we are forgiven, and restored to a right relationship with our Lord. Our Lord then wipes that sin off of the books, for He is merciful and loving:

“The Lord is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in mercy… He does not treat us as our sins deserve, nor punish us according to our iniquities. For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is His mercy for those who fear Him; as far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us.”  Psalm 103:8-12

Of course there may be temporal consequences to our sin. If we rob a bank, even if we repent, we may go to prison. (Our governmental legal system is not as forgiving as our gracious Lord.)

We experience FALSE GUILT when we feel badly because someone – perhaps a loved one, a friend, our boss, or the culture, wants us to do something that is unnecessary or even wrong. Perhaps they claim you need to purchase a new car, a bigger house, a fancy vacation, etc. because your neighbors (the Joneses) have one, and that you are A BAD AND UNCARING PERSON if you do not comply with their wishes.

Another example of false guilt is the notion that white people should feel guilty of racism because four hundred years ago white people enslaved black people in this nation. Although we should try to make amends for past atrocities and injustices, we cannot be guilty of something we did not do.

Guilt Can Become Our Worst Enemy When:

  • FALSE GUILT – We feel pressure from others to do certain things that are unnecessary or wrong, but do not have the discernment and courage to reject it because it is false and often a manipulation. So we give in to their wishes, or resist and live a life of guilt, condemned by their (Godless) value system.
  • TRUE GUILT – We experience true guilt, but are unwilling to repent to get rid of the sin in our lives (which would eliminate the guilt).

Guilt Can Become Our Best Friend When:

  • We know the difference between true guilt and false guilt and just dismiss false guilt, for it is fake, and a reflection on our loved one, friend, boss, or culture.
  • We realize true guilt is like a flashing warning sign that we are about to step off the narrow path that leads to Heaven, onto the wide path that leads to the Lake of Fire. So we repent, make things right, and get back on the narrow path. If we ignore the warning signs, or can’t distinguish between true guilt and false guilt, we will be on the wrong path, headed for perdition.

Not sure if what you are experiencing is true or false guilt? Hold it up to our Lord:

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths.” Proverbs 3:5-6

Given how our culture has become increasingly post-Christian, pressures will increase on Christians to conform to a godless culture. Therefore, it is critical that we spend time with our Lord each day so that we will be discerning and able to cope with true and false guilt.

Everyone we meet has to deal with guilt, and are doing so with varying degrees of success. So let us help them with their struggle to discern and dismiss false guilt, and repent of true guilt, so they may be free from the shackles of sin and experience the joy and love of our Lord.

To God be the glory

Lifeinthespirit.net

Becoming Free of Guilt

According to Wikipedia, “Guilt is an emotional experience [a feeling] that occurs when a person believes or realizes—accurately or not—that they have compromised their own standards of conduct or have violated universal moral standards and bear significant responsibility for that violation.”  It is what we feel when we believe we have done something wrong.

One of the most critical distinctions in human experience is the ability to discern between true guilt and false guilt. 

True Guilt

From a Christian perspective, when we sin, the Holy Spirit convicts us and we experience true guilt (true guilt for true sin). 

  • When we repent of that sin, we are then free of it, and the Lord remembers it no more.
  • If we sin against another person and humbly ask that person for forgiveness, we are then free of that sin and the guilt that comes with it, regardless of whether that person forgives us or not.
  • If that person refuses to forgive us, then they have sinned in the eyes of the Lord.
  • Of course there may be consequences for our sin, such as being sent to prison for robbing a bank.
  • This is why Christians experience such tremendous freedom – because of this mechanism to resolve conflict, become free of sin, and therefore become free to enjoy the joy of the Lord.

False Guilt

False guilt comes from other people or from our culture.

  • Although the guilt may feel the same, it is false and has no sound basis.
  • From another person, it may be in the form of “should” – you should do this or you should not do that. 
  • Or it may be in the form of accusations or I win scenarios.  The other person may even mean well, but it is still false guilt as they try to get you to do something.
  • An example of false guilt from culture include taboos against minorities speaking out – not “staying in their place” in society.

Dealing with Guilt

  • Sometimes the best way to recognize false guilt is to step back and reflect on statements or behavioral patterns of people we interact with.
  • Questions to ask:
    • Is it really true?
    • Is the guilt based on true sin against the Lord and other people?  If so, repent quickly to get rid of it, and you will be free. 
  • If you struggle with some sin (and there are many), ask the Lord to help you deal with it.
  • To deal with a person who is projecting false guilt on you, make sure you have your spiritual armor on (Ephesians 6:10-20), and seek to respond with compassion, love and truth.  Ask the Lord how best to respond.

Political Ideologies and Truth

  • Political ideologies are important elements of culture and therefore sources of guilt.
  • Political ideologies, such as the isms (communism, socialism, capitalism, scientism, democracy, left vs. right, Democrat vs. Republican, social justice vs. classical justice, BLM, etc.) are WORLD VIEWS – a set of perspectives on how to see the world.  In many respects they are the color of glasses we wear as we encounter the world.
  • While each of them contain some truth, none of them are totally true.  And it is truth that will set us free.

Mark Peterson