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Am I Guilty?

March 22, 2009
Romans 14:10,17-20,22

    Once a little boy was throwing a temper tantrum when a solar eclipse occurred.  “Oh, mommy,” the child screamed in terror, “I’ve killed the sun!”

    Many of us are so guilt-ridden we think every disaster is our fault.  We feel inadequate and sinful.  We can’t differentiate between concern and culpability so we take on the burdens of the world.

    Furthermore, we’re all prone to lay “guilt trips” on each other.  Throughout the gospels, many people tried to lay “guilt trips” on Jesus.  It’s astonishing that he never once changed his behavior in response to these criticisms:

    1.  Jesus didn’t feel guilty when his family requested an audience and he refused.  “Someone said . . . `Behold, Your mother and Your brothers are . . . seeking to speak to You.’  But . . . stretching out His hand toward His disciples, He said, . . . `Whoever does the will of My Father who is in heaven, he is My brother and sister and mother’ “ (Matt. 12:47-50).

    Biological ties are so strong that they often continue to “pull our strings” well into adulthood; but Jesus made his own decisions.

    2.  Jesus didn’t feel guilty when John’s disciples reproached him for neglecting traditional rituals.  “Then the disciples of John came to Him, saying, `Why do we and the Pharisees fast, but Your disciples do not fast?  And Jesus said to them, `The attendants of the bridegroom cannot mourn as long as the bridegroom is with them” (Matt. 9:14).

    Most of us get very defensive over religious demands; but Jesus had his own spiritual agenda.

    3.  Jesus didn’t feel guilty when the Pharisees denounced him for breaking the sabbath laws.  “Jesus went through the grainfields on the Sabbath. His disciples were hungry and began to pick some heads of grain and eat them.  When the Pharisees saw this, they said to him, 'Look! Your disciples are doing what is unlawful on the Sabbath.'  He answered, 'Haven't you read what David did when he and his companions were hungry?  He entered the house of God, and he and his companions ate the consecrated bread--which was not lawful for them to do, but only for the priests.’ " (Matt. 12:1-4, niv).

    Later, Jesus healed a man on the sabbath.  “And for this reason the Jews were persecuting Jesus, because He was doing these things on the Sabbath.  But He answered them, `My Father is working until now, and I Myself am working’ “ (John 5:16-17).

    Again, we’re usually very vulnerable when rules and regulations are at stake; but Jesus obeyed a higher voice.

    4.  Jesus didn’t feel guilty when the people accused him of being a drunkard.  He reminded them that when “John the Baptist (came) eating no bread and drinking no wine . . . (you said), `He has a demon!’  (Now) the Son of Man has come eating and drinking; and you say, `Behold, a gluttonous man, and a drunkard . . .’ “ (Luke 7:33-34).

    Jesus knew many people will find something wrong, no matter what you do!

    5.  Jesus didn’t feel guilty when Simon condemned him for associating with a prostitute.  “The Pharisee . . . said . . . `If this man were a prophet He would know who and what sort of person this woman is who is touching Him, that she is a sinner.” (Luke 7:39)
    Again, this was a ridiculous personal attack, but Jesus focused on the woman’s feelings.

    6.  Jesus didn’t feel guilty when the orthodox leaders said his doctrines were false.  “There was much grumbling. . . concerning Him; some were saying, `. . . He leads the multitude astray.’  Jesus therefore answered them, and said, `My teaching is not Mine, but His who sent Me’ “ (John 7:12,16).

    This kind of complaint causes many churches to split; but Jesus trusted his inner guidance.

    7.  Jesus didn’t feel guilty when the people tried to undermine his confidence.  “The Pharisees . . . said to Him, `You are bearing witness of Yourself; Your witness is not true.’  Jesus answered . . . ‘My witness is true; for I know where I came from, and where I am going’ . . .” (John 8:13-14).

    In the face of put-downs, Jesus remained totally self-assured.

    8.  Jesus didn’t feel guilty when the Jews called him insane and demon possessed.  “Many of them were saying, `He has a demon and is insane. Why do you listen to Him?’ “ (John 10:20)

    These charges didn’t deter Jesus from his regular schedule of teaching.  He said, “Which one of you convinces Me of sin? . . .” (John 8:46).

    Jesus was able to avoid the debilitating effects of guilt because he understood it’s purpose.  You see, guilt is our “friendly enemy.”  It’s both productive and unproductive.  There’s good guilt and bad guilt.  A little girl in London held up her broken wrist and said, “Look, my hand is bent the wrong way!”  She felt no pain whatsoever.  Being insensitive to pain is a rare and dangerous condition, but being insensitive to sin is an even more dangerous condition!

    Guilt, like pain, is a warning device to guide us toward righteousness.  That’s its only legitimate use.  Peter’s listeners let their guilt move them to commitment.  “They were pierced to the heart, and said to Peter . . . ‘What shall we do?’ “ (Acts 2:37).  That guilt was productive!
    Judas, on the other hand, let his guilt move him to despair. “When Judas, who had betrayed Him, saw that He had been condemned, he felt remorse and. . . went away and hanged himself” (Matt. 27:3-5).  That guilt was unproductive!

    Likewise, much of our guilt is unproductive and useless.

I.  FIRST, GUILT PUT IN US BY OTHERS IS USELESS.

    Children can be taught anything.  Some people feel it’s wrong to eat meat or use make-up.  Others feel it’s wrong to wear certain clothes or play certain games.  These trivial matters are not moral issues.  There’s a poem called the “The Little Quaker Sinner.”  In it a child has a ruffle on her dress and since this is against the simple regulations of her religion, she feels terribly guilty.  There’s no need to let such childhood conditioning affect us all of our lives.

    Irrelevant issues based on customs and habits should be discarded.  Paul said, “One man regards one day above another, another regards every day alike. Let each man be fully convinced in his own mind” (Rom. 14:5).

    Now, we are “our brother’s keeper” in one sense; but ultimately the choice must be based upon “what’s right for me!”  If animals were choosing the weather, the polar bear would ask for snow; the duck would ask for rain; the cat would ask for sunshine.  Likewise, you can get 50 different conflicting pieces of advice about any situation.  It’s okay to listen, but the final vote is yours.

    We can’t please everyone.  Legitimate guilt is helpful, but guilt used as self-punishment is very damaging.  Paul said, “Happy is he who does not condemn himself in what he approves” (Rom. 14:22).

    John said, “Beloved, if our heart does not condemn us, we have confidence before God” (I John 3:21)

    In other words, examine your scruples and ignore the unreasonable ones.  Guilt put into us by others is useless.

II.  SECOND, GUILT FOR THINGS WE CAN’T HELP IS USELESS.

    Life is largely out of our personal control.  Nature and circumstances cause undesirable consequences.  We are not responsible for the weather; for earthquakes; or for meteorites.  We are not even totally in charge of national affairs.  Being involved in science and politics is one thing; but hating ourselves for being less than omnipotent is quite another thing.  Once a farmer watched his hired hand plow around a rock.  Finally he said, “Since you can remove that rock, you should do so.  Now, if it were a granite mountain, I’d say, plow around it!”  In short, if you can fix something, then do it; but if you can’t, don’t feel guilty about it.

    Jesus himself described our limitations.  “You cannot make one hair white or black” (Matt. 5:36)

    Furthermore, we can’t change the past.  Mistakes are inevitable and remorse doesn’t change them.  God can help us weave these mistakes into the overall pattern of our lives.  So, don’t regret them.  Use them!

    Paul said, “Brethren, . . . one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead” (Phil. 3:13)

    Paul meant we must learn from our past failures and then let them go.  He had personal experience in this regard.  If he hadn’t given up his guilt for murdering Christians, he couldn’t have survived.

    In other words, berating ourselves for not being able to change reality is a waste of time.   Guilt for things we can't help is useless.

III.  THIRD, GUILT FOR THINGS WE’VE ALREADY DEALT WITH IS USELESS.

    When we face ourselves and admit our failures, we’ve made a step toward maturity.  Once, a large boy mistreated his smaller playmate.  When the hurt child left, crying, the older boy called out, “Aw! Come on back and play, Sam.  I’m sorry.”  Sam, warned by previous experiences was skeptical.  “Yes, I know you’re sorry,” he replied, “but what kind of sorry?  Is it the kind so you won’t do it again?”  That’s true repentance.

    Confessing our sins, correcting our course and making restitution when possible are the only reasonable actions we can take.  John said, “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins . . . " (I John 1:9)

    If God can forget our ignorance and evils, so should we.

    As Christians, we can be free of guilt.  Paul said, “Blessed are those whose lawless deeds have been forgiven, And whose sins have been covered.  Blessed is the man whose sin the Lord will not take into account” (Rom. 4:7-8).

    It’s an old Chinese custom to pay debts at the end of the year.  If a person is unable to meet his obligation, then his debts are canceled.  In this way everyone enters the new year with a clean slate.  That’s the gospel story.  Through Jesus, a Christian is able to enter his “new life” with a “clean slate.”

    God doesn’t lay “guilt trips on us.”  We do that!

    Now, it’s obvious that there are some things we should  feel guilty about.  Lying and stealing and deliberately injuring others ought to make us hurt; but there are other things that we shouldn't  feel guilty about.  When you feel guilty ask yourself: Was this put in me through childhood conditioning?  If so, re-examine it! 

    Ask yourself:  Is this something that others have a right to condemn me for?  If not, you must to make your own decision, and their disapproval is their problem, not yours. 

    Ask yourself:  Is this something that I am responsible for?  If not, admit your human limitations.

    Ask yourself:  Is this something that I can change?  If not, forget it!

    Ask yourself:  Is this something I’ve already confessed?  If so, God has forgiven you!  Quit obsessing about it!

    Our conscience is supposed to warn and guide us, not destroy us.  Let God remove your burden of guilt.

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Copyrighted 2009 by Miles and Maralene Wesner, Idabel, OK.  PLEASE FEEL FREE TO USE THIS MESSAGE IN ANY WAY YOU THINK IS APPROPRIATE.  The only thing we ask is that you give credit for original material in PUBLISHED works. 

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Miles E Wesner