P.O. Box 53055    
Los Angeles, CA 90053   

EXPECT TO FEEL GUILTY

Feeling happy is a good feeling. Feeling thankful is good. Feeling carefree is good. Feeling energetic is good. But feeling guilty is not a nice sensation. It does things to the body. The Psalmist David described in Psalm 31:10 NKJV what guilt did to him “For my life is spent with grief, and my years with sighing: my strength faileth because of mine iniquity, and my bones are consumed.”

So, what makes a person feel guilty? Usually we feel guilty when we know we've done something wrong. And how do we know what we've done is wrong? Ah, our conscience begins to bother us. That's when we get all those unpleasant sensations--the sweaty palms, the nervous tic, the upset stomach, the weak legs, and the dry mouth.

You may not think so at the time, but even these are good feelings—surely not comfortable, but good. They're good because they show us in no uncertain terms that we've done something wrong and we need to make it right. A person who doesn't feel guilty after doing something wrong should worry, because it means the conscience is not operating.

There are those who might try to convince you that guilt is bad and you should try to avoid the feeling. They may advise you to stay away from people who try to lay a guilt trip on you.

But it doesn't necessarily take another person to make us feel guilty. It's possible to be alone on a desert island reading the Bible and be brought under the conviction that you are a sinner in the eyes of God.

In fact, that's one of the purposes of Scripture. It's supposed to lay a guilt trip on us. Notice what it says in 2 Timothy 3:16: "All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness." (NKJV) The Bible works like a searchlight. The truth in God's Word shines up and down our lives and finds those things that are not right. There they are, under the glare of the light. We can see them clearly now. When we compare our life with what we read in the Bible, that little voice called conscience begins to speak to us. And the reproof and correction that follow may very well result in feelings of guilt.

There’s a program on my computer called Norton Utilities. I run this program often. Its purpose is to check out the hard disk. When the window on the screen informs me a problem has detected, I don't run screaming from the room, neither do I get a hammer and smash the computer screen. But you can be sure I don't ignore the warning.

When the program detects a problem, it will ask me if I want it to be fixed. When I hit the Return key, it fixes the problem and then reports, "Fixed".

Obviously the program doesn't create disk problems, it diagnosis and fixes them. But of course, in order to find and fix the problems I have to run the program!

The Word of God works in our conscience like the computer utility. When we expose ourselves to its pages, it will point out what is wrong in our lives

Before Jesus went back to heaven, He promised He would send the Holy Spirit. And John 16:7, 8 tells us that the first work of the Spirit is to convict us of sin. Here, let me read it: “Nevertheless I tell you the truth; It is expedient for you that I go away: for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send him unto you. And when he is come, he will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment:”

From time to time we can expect to feel guilty in the Christian life because we must realize we're wrong before we feel any need to change.

It's the same in the physical world. A law of motion is that an object will continue moving in the direction it's headed until an outside force impacts it to go in another direction.

Well, God’s Word is what we sometimes bump into when we’re going in the wrong direction, and guilt is the feeling we have on impact.

The truth is, when we do something wrong, we are guilty and we should feel guilty. But instead of trying to cover up our mistakes we should admit our guilt and recognize it as a symptom that something's wrong

Are you beginning to see now why feelings of guilt are actually not as bad as some would have us believe? When we get the big picture, we can see that guilt is a prerequisite to repentance. The Scriptures show us our guilt so that the Holy Spirit can call us to repentance (John 16:8). So the correct way to get rid of the feeling of guilt is not to stuff it, or ignore it, or drown it with drink or entertainment, but to repent.
Have you noticed that the Bible writers could be very blunt and honest? If they had lived in our day, they would not have been able to write the way they did. It would not have been politically correct. For instance, many Biblical confessions seem overly dramatic.
King David wrote: "Have mercy upon me, O God, according to Thy loving kindness: according unto the multitude of Thy tender mercies blot out my transgressions. Wash me thoroughly from mine iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin. For I acknowledge my transgressions: and my sin is ever before me. (Psalm 51:1-3).

These days he might have written something that sounded more like, "Lord, I messed up with that Bathsheba-Uriah thing. Sorry ‘bout that."

The great prophet Daniel wrote in Daniel 9:5, 6 NKJV, "We have sinned, and have committed iniquity, and have done wickedly, and have rebelled, even by departing from Thy precepts and from Thy judgments: Neither have we hearkened unto Thy servants the prophets, which spake in Thy name to our kings, our princes, and our fathers, and to all the people of the land."

Why did he put himself down like that? Today it would be more politically correct to write, "God, our parents made mistakes; we've made mistakes, but we're only human."

Peter showed what a poor self-image he had. He fell down at Jesus' feet saying, "Depart from me; for I am a sinful man, O Lord" (Luke 5:8).

Today he might have said, "Lord, could You give me some space? You're making me feel bad about myself."

The Apostle Paul held back nothing. You should read his confession, which is found in Romans 7. He goes on and on explaining what a sinner he is at heart without the gospel. What he could have done was simply written, “Lord, I'm having some internal conflicts, but I'm sure these feelings of desperation are more than I deserve."

Why were Biblical writers so hard on themselves? I believe it was because they knew that great guilt requires great repentance and that great repentance brings God’s great forgiveness.

The Scripture is clear that Jesus didn't come to condemn us but He did come to convict us. John 3:17 says, "For God sent not His Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through Him might be saved".

Another time, Jesus was confronted with a woman caught in sin. She didn't make excuses or try to hide her guilt. Jesus saw her heart and knew that she was truly sorry. "And Jesus said unto her, Neither do I condemn thee: go, and sin no more" (John 8:11 NKJV). Jesus' purpose was not to condemn but it was to convict; and a convicted sinner will have a sense of guilt.

The Bible is not especially concerned whether we perceive ourselves to have feelings of guilt or not. It is very concerned, though, about the fact that we are actually guilty. The trend these days to do away with guilt without dealing with what’s causing it can make the plan of salvation inoperable. This is because guilt leads to repentance, and repentance is the handle by which the forgiveness of God lifts us up and out of the pit of sin into which we have fallen. The issue we face is not who is a sinner and who isn't, but rather it is, inasmuch as we are all sinners, what are we going to do about it? I don=t want my conscience to give me a green light until what activated the guilt has been dealt with.

It’s as important for me to feel guilty when I do something wrong as it is for my finger to hurt when I touch a hot iron. Just as pain in the finger is an indication of danger, so guilt is God=s way of alerting us something is not right.

As we grow in grace and the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, guilt tells us when we’ve missed the mark. Do you feel guilty now and then? Thank God. It means you’re alive and well. But not to worry, God's grace is bigger than our guilt. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness (1 John 1:9).

I’m glad my conscience is alive and well and that it’s producing guilt when it’s called for. When dealt with promptly, guilt tells us when we’re off the road before we actually hit something and do serious damage to our life. When we arrive at the place where we value guilt and heed its warnings, we very well may discover we don’t hurt as much as we used to.