What Lies Beneath (1)

but we have renounced the hidden things of shame, not walking in craftiness or adulterating the word of God 2 Corinthians 4:2

Shame – Why are the things of shame hidden? Why not say, “the obviously shameful things”? The answer may lie in the difference between my inner self and my outer observation of others. Too often we present a façade to the world, even the world of fellow believers. Our outward appearance is molded into acceptable social patterns. That does not mean that we do not reveal our sins. We do reveal the ones that are “acceptably forgiven”. But these are not the real issues, are they? These are “ego” sins – that is to say, they are our selected self-evaluations plus the considered opinions of others. If I tell you that I have a problem with anger and I need forgiveness for a sharp tongue, I will find ready relief and comfort. But if I tell you that I struggle with sexual fantasy, I will most likely encounter discomfort and rejection. Why? Is one sin more sinful than the other? Does one make me guiltier before God? Of course not. Guilt is digital. I am either guilty or innocent. It takes but one transgression for me to become guilty and it does not matter what that transgression is. But some actions are socially acceptable sins and others are not. Those that are not are the subjects of the hidden things of shame.

Notice that Paul does not say, “the hidden sins”. Sinfulness is not the issue. Shame is the issue. Sin does not require concealment. The whole world displays its sinful behavior for all to see. Shame requires concealment because shame presupposes that I know I am humiliated by the act. Sin can be rebellion, pushed into God’s face in defiance. Shame does not work that way. Shame forces me into the closet. Shame won’t allow even God to watch. The power of shame to destroy my life is not its sinful guilt. The power of shame is its compulsion to hide. That’s why Paul uses the word aischune, from a root that mean “ugly”. It’s something you find repulsive and do not want to look at.

God walked in the Garden the evening after Adam and Eve opened the door to sin. He asked an amazing question: “Where are you?” Are we to assume God did not know the hiding place of Adam? Of course not. God was asking Adam to reveal himself as he was in his shameful state of mind. The dialogue of the Fall is about shame. Adam was given the option to step forward and renounce his compulsion to hide. He did not – and shame was born into God’s transparent creation.

God asks the same question of each of us. “Where are you?” is an invitation to visit the place of your personal humiliation and bring it into His light. Why? Because renouncing the hidden things of shame begins with letting God to look at me, exactly as I am. Until we answer God’s question (something Adam never did), we cannot step away from the terrorism of humiliation. We will be prisoners of the ugly.