Create in Me a Clean Heart
0 comments | Posted by Steven Layson on 28 Nov 2010 in From Steve's Study ::
Do you ever struggle with feelings of guilt? If you do, you are not alone. Many people live their lives with an uneasy feeling that they are somehow not “up to scratch”. For some, this is caused by something terrible they have done in the past that continues to haunt them. For others, there is an ongoing ‘skeleton in the closet’ of their lives that they have tried to get rid of, but it seems to have some sort of hold over them. For others, guilt is just a rather vague sense of unworthiness that hangs like a cloud over their mood 24/7.
And for many, these feelings of guilt are made worse by the church. It has to be said that the church has been guilty of trading on people’s feelings of guilt and worthlessness, and sometimes from less than pure motives. Over the years, many people have been shamed into parting with their hard-earned cash to help appease God (& line the pockets of the religious power-brokers).
But guilt is not always a bad feeling… particularly when we have something to feel guilty about. Take King David for example – in today’s passage (2 Sam 12), David is being brought to task for something terrible he has done (committing adultery and murder!). Up until this time, he was quite happily carrying on, having ‘gotten away’ with these terrible deeds.
But the prophet Nathan makes it crystal clear that what David has done is wrong. Note that the bible doesn’t label the things we do wrong as “misdemeanors”, or “misdeeds” or even “failings”, but as they are… SIN. Each of us has sinned. We have all turned away from God’s rule in our lives to live our own ways. And this attitude has led us into the many and varied “sins” we commit.
So, what does David do with his guilt? Does he try to justify himself, or explain it away as “not all that bad”? No. David acknowledges before God that he has done what is wrong and asks for forgiveness (read Psalm 51 for David’s prayer for forgiveness). When he does this, God forgives him.
Guilt is useful for us when it causes us to acknowledge the ways we have let God down, or downright rejected him. When we feel guilty, we need to bring the cause of our guilt before God and ask his forgiveness. When we do, we will discover that what John says is true, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness” (1 Jn 1:9).
So, don’t struggle with guilt, deal with it by bringing it to God & allowing him to take it from us as he has promised.
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