Ephesians 5:11-12 Have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness, but rather expose them. It is shameful even to mention what the disobedient do in secret.

As I was reading this it struck me that today, many of the things to which Paul was presumably referring are no longer done in secret, but are rather trumpeted, as points of pride. The whole concept of shame is attacked, as though shame itself were shameful. The devil has indeed blinded a vast number of people to what is going on, and even to what they themselves are doing. (2 Corinthians 4:4) Shame is hardly a comfortable emotion, but it can be a very valuable one. It is an important function of our conscience, and helps keep us from destructive behavior. The problem is, there is a spectrum of emotion from simple embarrassment to shame, and we often don’t hit the right spot on it. Passing gas in public can be embarrassing, but it is a natural biological function that shouldn’t be shameful. However, there is historical record of a Spanish woman a couple of centuries ago who passed gas in church very loudly, and it smelled so bad that, out of the sheer overload of embarrassment, she died on the spot of a heart attack. We have the expression, “I could have died.” Well, she did! That is a perversion of what God intended as something to help keep us in line. The devil tries to get us to feel ashamed of the things of God. That’s why Paul boldly proclaimed, “For I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes: first to the Jew, then to the Gentile.” (Romans 1:16) Society today totally perverts that There are those who utterly debase themselves for financial gain, or even for “likes” or “clicks” on social media. They are to be deeply pitied, and those who profit off of them opposed at every turn. That is shameful indeed, and I take no joy in reporting it. Shame is in itself a valuable thing, and we must be on our guard against the devil’s perversions of it. When it is properly applied, it leads to repentance and forgiveness, and that is a valuable thing indeed.

I find it interesting that some of my most persistent memories are of embarrassment. Sometimes they flash into my mind at odd moments, and I have to choose to place them under the blood of Jesus, who took the penalty for all my sins. The odd thing is, most of those do not fall into what I would call sin! I need to let the Holy Spirit be in command of all my emotions and judgments, not forcing shame on anyone but not accepting things that God says are shameful. The world today is far from what the Bible depicts as God’s plan, particularly in regard to sex. However, people are waking up. It was interesting that the biggest crowd response during Donald Trump’s inauguration speech was when he said that for at least the next four years, the official position of the US government is that there are only two genders, male and female. People are tired of the nonsense! I am not to depend on “official positions,” but simply apply God’s standards in every area. There is no shame in that!

Father, thank You for this reminder. Thank You that people all over the world do seem to be waking up in a number of ways. I pray that they would not just correct their politics and economics, but genuinely turn to You in repentance and faith, for their salvation and Your glory. Thank You. Hallelujah!