Guilt: The Devil's Client

“How do you spell the word “caution”?, Kate yelled from the kitchen.  My husband, Sam, spelled it out for her and not another word was said.

Later, when Sam walked into the kitchen, he found a spill on the floor and next to the spill was a handmade sign that read:

Caution!

WET FLOOR!

 

(Beneath that warning, there was an ominous picture of a little stick man slipping in a mysterious puddle, just to send home the message).

Sam asked me to join him in the kitchen, we had quite a laugh, I took a picture of the sign (like a good mom), and then we called our daughter to come clean up the mess.

After complementing her creativity, we explained to Kate that she could have wiped up the spill and been well on her way to other things in less time than it took for her to create the sign!  Besides, even though its purpose was to ensure the safety of others, the sign would also serve as a constant reminder of her “Saturday Afternoon Sweet Tea Disaster”.  Everytime she walked through the kitchen the sign would be there, with its little stick man taunting and chiding in a sing-song voice, “You made a mess…you made a mess”,  and then guilt would come knocking on the door of her heart.  How much better it would be to fess up, clean up, cheer up, and move on!

Guilt.  It’s not always a bad thing.  In fact, it’s often the catalyst that leads us to repentence.  We do something wrong, we feel guilty about it, we confess our sin, and we ask for forgiveness.  In a good way, guilt is evidence of a conscience that is bruised and longing to be healed.  As a mom I see this in the tender hearts of my children when they come to me, chin-in-chest, teary-eyed, saying “Mom, I need to tell you about something I did”, understanding that their confession might result in a consequence, but also knowing that they will always, always be forgiven.  (Of course there are those times when they just make a sign and walk away…)   

I secretly appreciate that guilt comes to survey the landscape of my children’s hearts.  When he shows up, it is evidence to me that the grass there is green, the flowers are blooming, and the trees are producing sweet and delicious fruit.  I thank him for his visit, but then encourage a speedy departure, because it’s when guilt decides to hang around after forgiveness takes place, that he can become dangerous.

Guilt, if given the opportunity to settle in and stay a while, will begin clearing the fertile heart land for a high rise with plenty of rooms available for his friends shame, failure, and despair, who will no doubt come to visit when they hear about guilt’s new home.  His motive begins to change as he selfishly considers the best spot for his permanent residence; and the voice of guilt that once rang out with a message of sincere conviction becomes a relentless whisper of condemnation.

Guilt begins as a gentle tap on the conscience—a reminder that we are human and that we make mistakes.  When we sin and wander off the Christian path, a feeling of guilt might be what we need to draw us back to God.  And God will always, always forgive.

However, the devil, in keeping with his deceptive nature, will take the very tool that can strengthen our faith and use it to create a wedge between us and our Heavenly Father. In fact, he plays the role of guilt’s evil realtor when it comes to finding a home in the heart of the Christian!  The devil wants guilt to live inside of us, he wants us to feel unworthy of Christ, and he wants our faith to weaken through the constant reminder of past sin. 

So, how do we prevent that from happening?  What can we do to keep guilt from becoming the devil’s client and a tenant of our hearts? 

First, we understand that guilt can be a means of calling us to repentence or refocusing our eyes on the cross.  Then, we deal with the sin in our lives by confessing our faults to one another (James 5:16), praying for forgiveness (Psalm 51:1-2), and asking for God’s help (Psalm 121:1-8).  Most importantly, we immerse ourselves in study of the Word so that we might better understand the nature of God:  He is merciful (Psalm 145:8), He is faithful (2 Thessalonians 3:3), He is forgiving (1 John 1:9), and He is love (1 John 4:8).  While guilt is sitting in his hearty high rise with the window down and shouting out that we are unworthy, the Bible tells us that God loved us enough to send His Son to the cross so that by His blood we can be continually cleansed of all our sin (John 3:16, 1 John 1:7) .  We ultimately evict guilt from our hearts by daily reminding ourselves of Paul’s inspired words found in the first verse of Romans chapter 8:

“There is now therefore no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.”

Don’t let guilt fool you!  God’s grace is greater than our sin.  Fess up, clean up, cheer up, and move on!