It was late July 2023, in a midwestern city in a house next door to a castle. Sometime before sunrise, three gunshots fired by an angry man ended the lives of two adults. Although it was clear who committed those homicides, almost two years later no sentencing has taken place. Does the perpetrator hope to evade blame? We are waiting for human justice to prevail.
You’ve heard similar stories — different people, different passions, different instruments of death. True crime stories go way back. The oldest recorded one is not on YouTube, but in Genesis 4:3-16. The thorny part began with Cain’s jealous anger toward his brother Abel. God warned Cain that sin was “crouching at the door” unless he subdued that anger. But Cain lost control and killed Abel. God responded:
The voice of your brother’s blood is crying out to me from the ground!…You will be a homeless wanderer on the earth. Genesis 4:10, 12 NET
Thousands of years later, Jesus brought up Abel’s untimely demise in the segment of his famous Eschatological Discourse that might be described as “Woes to Religious Leaders Who Reject Me”.
…on you will come all the righteous blood shed on earth, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah son of Barachiah, whom you murdered between the temple and the altar.* I tell you the truth, this generation will be held responsible for all these things!
Matthew 23:35-36 NET
Was it shame, guilt, or both that Jesus ascribed to the Religious Leaders? It’s a complicated task to separate guilt from shame. But, in this tight space, I’ll try. Here are common ways guilt and shame have been differentiated.
Guilt is, I DID something bad. The guilty person may either ignore or assume responsibility for their damaging action(s). Assuming responsibility may involve changing course (repenting), making amends and doing good in future situations.**
Shame is, I AM bad. Shame may be the result of a person’s own misdeeds or the result of another person’s actions or words generating false shame. Redemption and restoration from both kinds of shame is found in the sacrifice of Jesus on the Cross.**
**Note: Some aberrant personality types may not experience or acknowledge guilt or shame.
Unresolved shame and/or guilt pushes us toward isolation. Cain responded to God after his crime:
Look, you are driving me off the land today, and I must hide from your presence…. Genesis 4:14 NET
Cain’s flight from God’s presence prevented change in his heart. Because Cain failed to take responsibility for his evil act, he became the vanguard for the following state of man.
But the Lord saw that the wickedness of humankind had become great on the earth. Every inclination of the thoughts of their minds was only evil all the time. The Lord regretted that he had made humankind on the earth.., Genesis 6:5-6a NET
Can a repeat of this horrible development be avoided? I’m confident that those who follow Jesus in his Way with his Heart, desire his Holy Spirit to bring conviction: of specific ways that guilt or shame separates us from full fellowship with him and other believers. Being isolated like Cain is not his Way.
If and when you sense a personal tug toward isolation, ask God to show you if guilt or shame (unfounded or actual), is setting you up to experience seclusion and separation from him and his people. Seek help from trusted individuals if needed. When we band together as Jesus intended, we are his island or oasis of refuge in the midst of depravity — we are “salt of the earth” and “the light of the world”, (Matthew 5:12-16).
by Kathleen Petersen
