Identifying Shame

God woke me up to study same.

He has, for months, been pointing out the self-hate that lies beneath the surface of my awareness. I didn’t even know I hated myself…but I see it now. And it all stems from shame.

Self-hate is sneaky. It hides behind pride. It makes you believe you are something you are not. It causes you to think you are enough and can possibly be independent of God. Pride makes us focus on ourselves and accomplishments. I am convinced that we make our decisions and are most destructive when we operate with pride.

Pride is born of shame. Let me tell you what I have learned about shame.

1. It started in the garden after the enemy caused Eve to doubt God (Gen 3:1) and it caused Adam and Eve to believe that God made them defective. (Gen 2:25, Gen. 3:7) It attacks who we are, not what we have done.

2. When you don’t know who you are, you won’t produce the right fruit.

3. Shame enters though lies. (Gen 3:1-5)

4. Shame makes us cover and hide (Gen 3:8), it forces us into the darkness as fear is shame’s ride-or-die partner. (Gen 3:10)  

5. It makes us deeply insecure. Insecure people do the most harm- they hate themselves and so they will hate others too.

6. Since shame makes us inward focused, it makes room for pride. Pride is birthed from shame. It makes us put ourselves first and justify the harm we do.

7. Trust in God repels shame, making us humble (dispelling pride) (Psm 34:5, 31:17)