Shame

My little children, these things I write to you, so that you may not sin.  And if anyone sins, we have an advocate with the fatther, Jesus Christ the righteous.   And he himself is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the whole world.
1 John 2: 1-2

I've seen a lot the shame that sin can bring.  In fact, I've experienced the shame of it many times.  What is it that seems so appealing and yet once we engage  in it leaves us so ashamed?  Sin can be very deceiving this way.  In fact, I'd venture to say that satan can be extremely deceiving.  Whatever sin we choose to engage in, lust, lying or even stealing,  I would assume that there is shame involved.   Why is it that someone engaging in pornography does this behind closed doors?  If pornography is supposedly so mainstream these days, why do most people engage in it in secret?  In fact, I've noticed the same behavior from someone about to enter a strip bar.  Just before walking in, a person will take a look around them as if to see if anyone around them is watching their behavior.  Yeah, mainstream behavior alright.
No matter how right we think we are with God, we will all eventually fall victim to sin and have to deal with guilt and shame.

For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.
Romans 3:23 NKJV

Yes, if there's one thing that we can all be certain of,  it's that we will all fail when it comes to sin.  Not only have I experienced the shame and guilt of sin, but I've seen my friends go  through this same hell.  A good friend of mine, someone who had a wonderful testimony of what he had endured and overcome in his life has recently fell victim to this shame game.  Did his friends ridicule him because of his transgression?  NO!  Many of us were more than ready to stand beside our friend in his time of need.  I'm sure in his mind he felt that he had fallen so far and let all  of us down.  This couldn't be farther from the truth.  The ONLY one accusing our friend was the enemy satan!  Whenever we fall short, satan is the first responder on the scene to convict us for our transgression.  1 Peter 5:8 warns us that our  adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion,  seeking someone to devour.  Peter wouldn't give this warning to the early church if he didn't feel it was important.  So, knowing this, can we see who our accuser is?  It certainly isn't God!  God knows we're going to fail, it's in our nature.  However, God had something planned from the begining to rectify our sinful condition.  Through the sacrafice of Jesus, our sins past, present and future have been washed away by Christs shed blood.  When Satan shows up to accuse us, we can be assured that Jesus has already suffered and died for whatever sin satan is accusing us.  I recall a saying my friend Chuck has told me a few times, "when satan reminds you of your past...remind him of his future!"  Of course, despite knowing his ultimate fate, our adversary will still continue to prey on Gods children.  When we sin we can rest assured that we are in good company.   Great men of scripture have sinned and fallen short, only to be redeemed by a loving and merciful creator.

~Scott~