So, What Do You DO With Your Guilt?
Because no one is innocent
Recently I had a discussion with a young man about religion, worldview, and the meaning of life. I operate from a biblically-informed Christian ethic. My friend was making a case for an all-inclusive, multi-faceted approach to ethics and morality in which “love thy neighbor” is the driving force.
“After all,” he said, “there are many ways up the mountain. Budda, Confucius, Jesus…they all taught basically the same things. Treat others with kindness. Be honest. Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.”
I agreed that, on the surface, the “love your neighbor” morality makes many religions seem similar. But Jesus made a claim that negated my friend’s “many ways up the mountain” philosophy. Jesus claimed to be God. He said:
I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. (John 14:6, ESV)
I continued, “In addition, all the great moral teachers died, including Jesus. But He rose from the dead, proving His divinity. That’s an argument that is difficult to refute and liberating if you can grasp it. Many people have tried to disprove the resurrection, only to become believers themselves.”
My friend was unconvinced but polite. I offered a few other thoughts and we parted ways.
Later, I realized I missed an opportunity to introduce a critical concern to him. I should have asked…
“But what do you do with your guilt?”
Guilt is a huge part of our national conversation right now. The idleness imposed by the coronavirus pandemic then the horrific upheaval triggered by police actions against black citizens have put many Americans in an accusational and/or defensive posture.
Charges of guilt are being levied by every segment of society against every segment of society. Even those who remain silent are being shamed for not taking a public stand.
And, on top of all this, each of us individually is examining where we might also bear some level of guilt while, at the same time, developing arguments as to why the finger of guilt should not be pointed our way.
Guilt has always been part of the human condition
It’s nothing new. Recent events have only forced the problems associated with latent guilt into the public square. The typical ways to deal with guilt involve trying to ignore it, shifting blame, justifying our guilt-inducing actions, substance abuse, or punishing ourselves with self-destructive behavior.
Intense feelings of guilt have been connected with various forms of mental illness including depression, anxiety, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and bipolar disorder.
Sometimes those afflicted with guilt strive to counter their allegedly bad behavior by throwing themselves into public service or charitable projects. Certainly, helping the poor by working in food kitchens or volunteering on house-building projects is commendable.
Even taking part in protests, while outwardly decrying perceived injustices, can be a way for participants to assuage themselves of their own guilt.
Religions like Hinduism, Buddhism, and Confucianism teach that people should try to deal with feelings of guilt through self-cleansing practices, personal confession, or by allowing guilt to push one through a process of higher consciousness and refining.
But…the guilt remains because we humans simply do not have the power to adequately and permanently silence a guilty conscience.
All have sinned
This is what sets Christianity apart from all other religions. The Apostle Paul explains in the book of Romans that everyone is aware of right and wrong because God has built it into their psyche:
They show that the work of the law is written on their hearts, while their conscience also bears witness, and their conflicting thoughts accuse or even excuse them on that day when, according to my gospel, God judges the secrets of men by Christ Jesus. (Romans 2:15–16, ESV)
The Jews, who were privileged to have God’s law as part of their national heritage, would be judged by that law. Basically, the law served to inform their consciences with a more thorough rendition of God’s requirements.
But non-Jews (Gentiles) don’t get a pass because they were not gifted with the moral code defined in the Jewish law. Paul says that God has written the basics of this code on their hearts. Many people call this “natural law.”
Just because we may know right from wrong does not help us in our struggle to be “good.” Paul explains that both Jews and Gentiles are guilty because no one can perfectly and adequately follow all of God’s requirements — which demand perfection in word, thought, and deed. He says:
None is righteous, no, not one; no one understands;
no one seeks for God.
All have turned aside; together they have become worthless;
no one does good, not even one…For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. (Romans 3:10–12, 23, ESV)
Jesus bore our guilt
But here’s the good news!
For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. (John 3:16, ESV)
God became a man, and we know Him as Jesus Christ. All the historic creeds of the church claim that Jesus was fully God and fully man. His mission was to live an absolutely flawless life, then submit Himself to an unjust sentence of death, a brutal death, in which He willingly bore the sins of those who would believe in Him.
He took the punishment for us and gave us His righteousness in exchange.
For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. (2 Corinthians 5:21, ESV)
And here’s the greatest thing of all…He proved that His mission was accomplished by rising from the dead and appearing to over 500 people before He ascended to heaven where He now sits at God the Father’s right hand. This is the part I explained to my friend in our exchange a while back.
We can offload our guilt
By choosing to believe in Jesus our sin and, therefore, our guilt is dealt with, permanently and effectively. We do not have to work to earn this salvation. It’s a free gift. It’s free, but it does cost us our old life in exchange for the new life He offers. But, since our consciences can be cleansed, what a wonderful, guilt-free life it is!
He saved us. It wasn’t because of the good things we had done. It was because of his mercy. He saved us by washing away our sins. We were born again. The Holy Spirit gave us new life. (Titus 3:5, NIRV)
Because we are humans, we will continue to stumble. We will continue to sin. Jesus provides a remedy for this situation as well:
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, ESV)
A life in which we can receive forgiveness and cleansing by acknowledging our wrongdoing on a continual basis can set even the most hardened sinner free!
What about the people we’ve hurt?
Receiving forgiveness from God is the most important aspect of our cleansing. But odds are that we’ve hurt others in our wrongdoing.
While it’s not the focus of this article, Jesus and the New Testament authors stress the importance of confessing our sins to those we’ve hurt (James 5:16), forgiving each other (Colossians 3:13), and being reconciled (Matthew 5:24).
Receiving and offering forgiveness from and to others is a natural, downstream outflow of first being cleared of our own guilt by God.
Christianity is unique because the problem of guilt is fully addressed
As I said above, no other religion offers this thorough and air-tight cure for the problem of guilt. No other religion has a founder who rose from the dead to prove His claims while dealing, once and for all, with the problem of sin and guilt.
No other religion has a Savior as wonderful as Jesus. So what are you doing with your guilt? Deal with completely it by giving it to Him today.
