We are confounded, because we have heard
reproach; shame has covered our faces.
Jeremiah 51:51
I've been busy working on tonight's Bible study...
reproach; shame has covered our faces.
Jeremiah 51:51
I've been busy working on tonight's Bible study...
The subject I believe the Lord wants me to teach on is "shame." As a prisoner and convicted felon, I know a lot about shame. So do the men who are incarcerated with me.
Shame is engrained into the prison system. When a person enters a correctional facility, he is stripped and searched for contraband. He's given a number that will supersede his given name. Then comes the issuance of his uniform with his identification number imprinted on every one of his outer garments: shirt, sweatshirt, pants, and his winter coat.
In prison, you're told where to go and what to do. You're told when to come out of your cell, and when to go back inside it. You get frisked often, and sometimes you will be ordered to strip naked to allow guards to check your clothing for contraband. Living in prison involves having to deal with humiliation on a daily basis.
Yet the reality is, wrongdoing and breaking the law brings shame upon the offender. It has brought shame and public reproach to me because crime is something society frowns upon, and understandably so.
But convicted felons are not the only ones to experience shame and humiliation for their misdeeds. In fact, shame goes back to the time of Adam and Eve. They, too, experienced shame when they sinned by disobeying God's instructions. Shame was the result of their disobedience.
Having sinned, and now plagued with a guilty conscience, in desperation Adam and Eve went deep into the forest to hide behind some trees. But they didn't get far. Our first parents learned the hard way that you cannot hide your sins from the eyes of the Lord, nor can you run from His presence.
I want the men who will be attending tonight's Bible study to fully understand what shame is. What its purpose might be, and what remedy is available for us today that can take away the reproach and pain of shame.
To be continued…
D.B.
Shame is engrained into the prison system. When a person enters a correctional facility, he is stripped and searched for contraband. He's given a number that will supersede his given name. Then comes the issuance of his uniform with his identification number imprinted on every one of his outer garments: shirt, sweatshirt, pants, and his winter coat.
In prison, you're told where to go and what to do. You're told when to come out of your cell, and when to go back inside it. You get frisked often, and sometimes you will be ordered to strip naked to allow guards to check your clothing for contraband. Living in prison involves having to deal with humiliation on a daily basis.
Yet the reality is, wrongdoing and breaking the law brings shame upon the offender. It has brought shame and public reproach to me because crime is something society frowns upon, and understandably so.
But convicted felons are not the only ones to experience shame and humiliation for their misdeeds. In fact, shame goes back to the time of Adam and Eve. They, too, experienced shame when they sinned by disobeying God's instructions. Shame was the result of their disobedience.
Having sinned, and now plagued with a guilty conscience, in desperation Adam and Eve went deep into the forest to hide behind some trees. But they didn't get far. Our first parents learned the hard way that you cannot hide your sins from the eyes of the Lord, nor can you run from His presence.
I want the men who will be attending tonight's Bible study to fully understand what shame is. What its purpose might be, and what remedy is available for us today that can take away the reproach and pain of shame.
To be continued…
D.B.
