Dealing with guilt

Your guilt is removed and your sins are forgiven (Isaiah 6:7).

Aren’t Christians hypocrites? They say that they believe in life-long marriage, but plenty of them get divorced.  They claim that gossiping is wrong, yet they spread rumors too.  They talk about how important forgiveness is, yet they still hold grudges.  They say we shouldn’t judge others, but they constantly criticize people for doing stuff they believe is wrong.  Christians aren’t better than anyone else—why do they think they’re so special?

If you feel this way, you’d be right—Christians are no better than anyone else.  The Bible says, God looks down from heaven…to see if there are any who understand, any who seek God. Everyone has turned away, they have become united in corruption; there is no one who does good, not a single person (Psalm 14:2-3).  Viewed from God’s perspective, all people fail to measure up when it comes to moral living.

What sets Christians apart is not an awareness of moral bankruptcy—lots of non-Christians also bemoan the human condition.  You don’t have to be pledged to Jesus to get angry over poverty, war, and social injustice.  And Christians are not unique in their desire for personal improvement—all kinds of people want to improve their themselves.  They strive to control their words.  They try to become more sensitive those around them.  You don’t have to be a student of Christ to understand the need for impulse control.

Christians are different in how they deal with guilt over their mistakes.  Most of the time, the bad things we do end up hurting other people.  How do you repair the damage that results?  Some try to make the victim forget their hurt by showering them with expensive gifts or extra attention.  Others pretend that the injury never happened and go about their usual routine, hoping that ‘time will heal all wounds’.  Sadly, old hurts tend to fester, poisoning relationships with resentment, bitterness and mistrust.

Christians understand that you cannot take back words that should never have been spoken in the first place.  Christians realize that broken promises are opportunities which have been lost forever.  But Christians find comfort in Jesus’ words, Friend, your sins are forgiven (Luke 5:20).  We are assured that on the cross, the Son of God worked an incredible miracle—He freed us from the chains of guilt by suffering the pain which our mistakes have caused.  Jesus gives us inner peace by forgiving us, and helping us to forgive each other as well—that’s what sets Christians apart from everyone else.