Friday, April 27, 2012

one of the greatest barriers to inner peace…

one of the greatest barriers to inner peace…

we’re going to continue in our series as we’re going phrase by phrase through the LORD’s prayer.  we are looking at how to have inner peace in this stress filled world that we live in.

now one of the greatest barriers to inner peace without a doubt is guilt.  millions of people are tortured by guilt.  they are stuck in the past.  they are a slave to regrets, a slave to shame, a slave to things they can’t get out of their mind.  they don’t know how to get out of the past so that they can get on with their life in the present and get into the future.  you cannot have peace of mind and guilt at the same time. 

the thing about guilt is it is a uniquely human emotion.  we share a lot of emotions with animals.  animals have fear.  animals have anger.  animals can express joy and happiness.  animals can even express sadness.  but only human beings have guilt.  no dog ever feels a guilty conscious because no dog is made in the image of GOD. 

you were created with a soul and you were given a conscious and you know the difference between right and wrong.  so this is uniquely human emotion. 

it’s also universal.  everybody feels guilt at different times of their life because we’ve all blown it.  we’ve all made mistakes.  nobody’s perfect.  nobody bats 1000.  so everybody has to deal with this issue in their lives on a continual basis. 

the problem is guilt is an incredibly destructive emotion.  it is probably the number one cause of low self-esteem.  it is probably the number one cause of depression.  and it’s probably the number one cause of anxiety.  when you are filled with guilt and you’re trying to keep something a secret in your life that you’re ashamed of it curses all kinds of emotional difficulties in your life. 

most of all though guilt is a warning light.  it is a warning light that says something is wrong in my life and i need to get it corrected.  that’s the reason GOD allows it.  it’s a corrective warning light.  it’s not something that’s supposed to stay on in your life.  it’s a warning light.  you correct what’s wrong and then you get on with your life.

just a thought from the front porch… 

5 comments:

Melody Lowes said...

Removing guilt and shame involves a lot of work. It is a long process, and much MUCH easier said than done. Just telling someone that they don't need it anymore won't fix that warning light. In fact - it may add to the load of guilt! What are the tools needed to crawl out from under a lifetime of shame?

Bill Williams said...

hold steady, melody. that is what we are going to be looking at here on the front porch. and you are right. it is very difficult. we need help!

Melody Lowes said...

Did I put the cart in front of the horse? (pink cheeked grin...)

Bill Williams said...

it's coming, melody. haha! thanks for being there!

Alfred Albert said...

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