It's All in What You Wear

A few weeks back I listened to a sermon entitled, Who told you that you were naked?. Seriously! The topic was shame, and it got me to thinking about the shame that I have lived with for a long time.  The shame of broken relationships. The shame of not being worthy. Not being worthy to be treated with kindness. Not being worthy to state my feelings and be accepted, but "worthy enough" for several to make the effort of making critical judgments over my life. I have wondered for awhile...how can I measure up enough to be worthy?

Shame entered the world when sin did. It is that sinking feeling that we don't measure up. Sin and you don't measure up. Be sinned against? Another sign you don't measure up. Associating with another sinner? Do that and the world says you don't measure up.  Basically, when it comes down to it we are unworthy. Adam and Eve knew this as soon as they sinned. No one needed to tell them they were naked. They knew in an instant that they were exposed and needed some kind of covering.

Shame tries to hide the unworthiness whether it be with fig leaves or lies. Or maybe we use self-righteousness or self-protection. Whatever is employed won't work. Shame is one big giant cover-up because we don't measure up, and frankly, there aren't enough fig leaves in your closet or mine to make us worthy.

All of us have become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags; we all shrivel up like a leaf, and the like the wind our sins sweep us away.  Isaiah 64:6

So if we can't measure up by covering up, what do we do? How can we get rid of the shame that haunts us? How can we even hold our heads up when deep inside we feel the unworthiness? A change of wardrobe. We can't cover ourselves enough to be enough. It won't work. There is only one Person who is worthy, and He one day decided to make Himself nothing so that we could become something. Christ is our covering. He is the one that makes us measure up.

I delight greatly in the Lord; my soul rejoices in my God. For he has clothed me with garments of salvation and arrayed me in a robe of his righteousness...Isaiah 61:10

These days I look to the real Fashion Designer...the only one who can cover my unworthiness. He is the one that gives us worth...

Dealing with shame? Check out this post with more links for these series.