Hello, world! Welcome to Life Rocks. I want to speak today on “Deactivating Guilt.” You think about it—let’s talk about it.
Have you ever been guilty? Actually, studying guilt is fun, though experiencing guilt is hard to bear. All over the world we have countries and cultures who excel in identifying their own guilt. I actually know people who feel guilty about feeling guilty. There is Indian guilt, there is American guilt, there’s European guilt, there’s Middle Eastern guilt, there’s African guilt, and so feeling guilty makes you feel guilty. It’s sort of actually a cultural defense mechanism, because if all of us are guilty, then none of us is
personally guilty.
The guilt problem is not just a feeling issue. If it’s just feeling guilty, it could be false. You’re feeling guilty because you’re unwise or stupid or did something by mistake. But I’m talking about being guilty. There are many internet versions of the priest or the vivacious young lady or the detective who sent a telegram to all their friends saying, “Flee at once, everything is discovered!” and everybody left in 24 hours. Now you’re saying, what is a telegram? It’s kind of an old version of a Tweet or Instagram. Everybody has skeletons in the closet and something needs to be done in order to cover it, and if you can’t cover it, run away. Unfortunately, guilt runs with you wherever you run away. So people need to handle guilt. They handle it one of two ways. One is by denial, to deny guilt. I’ve actually read comments about how guilt is like your circadian bodily rhythms, like fatigue and hunger. Well, fatigue and hunger are physical acts which can be overcome, and if guilt, which is not a physical act—it’s a psychological and spiritual act—can be overcome, you better find the way to do that, because you can’t be permanently fatigued and hungry and you cannot be permanently guilty.
The other way to handle guilt is to acknowledge it—to acknowledge guilt, that you are wrong, that you have offended God and others and somehow seek for forgiveness. So whether you are denying guilt today and needing forgiveness or acknowledging guilt and seeking forgiveness, any God who is God at all must be able to forgive. Otherwise He is not God. In many religions of the world, you find God is merciful, and even forgiving. But you’ve got to ask on what basis God is merciful and forgiving. Is God’s forgiveness just whimsical, or capricious, or random? Or is it intentional, active, and thorough? Is God’s forgiveness whimsical, capricious, arbitrary? Or is it intentional, active, and thorough? I have news for you. That the God who wants to offer you forgiveness and excels in it is One—the Lord Jesus. God intentionally sends His Son to thoroughly cover your guilt, and actively offers forgiveness to you. That’s the only way to deactivate guilt. You cannot handle your guilt by yourself, because ultimately all your offense is against God Himself. Unless God takes initiative, and not capriciously and arbitrarily and you’ll always be wondering whether you had the experiential forgiveness, because He’s intentional, active, and thorough. When the Lord Jesus paid the penalty for your sin and your guilt, rose from the dead to prove that He can deactivate it. All you say is, “I welcome You, I trust You as my guilt deactivator. My Savior.” Are you forgiven? Would you like to be? Write to us. I’d like to respond to your queries. You think about it, and when you’re ready, let’s talk about it.
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