Why Are We Guilty
Posted by: richman in harold sala, tags: forgiveness, guilt, guilty, inspirational, Jesus loves you, motivational, spiritualSo overflowing is his kindness toward us that he took away all our sins through the blood of his Son, by whom we are saved. Ephesians 1:7, Living Bible
Two teen aged boys confessed to stealing the body of an elderly woman from its grave, decapitating it with an ax and burning the head because they wanted the skull as an “oddity”. Judge Rufus Jefferson sentenced the boys to a reform school, but suspended the sentence on condition they spend their spare time cleaning up paupers’ graves in local cemeteries.
The headless body of the 81 year old woman was found by a hunter on a remote island. When the youths were apprehended they told police that they decapitated the body with an ax, threw the body in a lake, and burned the head to remove the skin. One of the youths was quoted as saying, “We just forget about it except when we try to sleep and things like that.”
There are a lot of individuals who, like the boys, would like to forget, but forgetting is not easy. Conscience is a silent sentinel who reminds us of the wrongs we have done, especially when we try to sleep. When a person has violated his personal convictions whether it is a written law or only not doing something that should have been done he feels guilty. Forgiveness is the only thing that can permanently remove that guilt.
The director of a large English mental institution was quoted as saying, “I could dismiss half of my patients tomorrow if they could be assured of forgiveness.” Another authority adds, “It has been claimed that some 60 percent of these patients are suffering in some degree from a guilt complex.” It is understood why the two boys feel guilty and cannot sleep when they have unearthed and decapitated a body from an unmarked grave. Much of the work of modern psychotherapy deals with people who feel guilty and do not know why they feel as they do.
Have you ever noticed how seriously the Bible takes the problem of guilt? In this regard Christianity is unique. It recognizes guilt as a very real and spiritually detrimental force that can and should be dealt with. The Bible says that people are guilty because they have violated God’s standard for right living. We have chosen our way over God’s way. Ours is selfish; His is loving; ours is characterized by the attitude, “What’s in it for me?”; while His is described by the beautiful words, “For God so loved that He gave.” Dr. O. Hobart Mower, a past president of the American Psychology Association, has stated that guilt can be removed only by confession and expiation.
In this, the Bible and the psychiatrist are in general agreement. Do you know that the Bible says man is guilty because he has sinned against God? It does not stop with condemnation, but reveals that forgiveness is possible. It comes as the result of confession. Forgiveness was made possible by the death of Christ long ago. Confession–acknowledging our sins and wrongdoing– is God’s psychiatry. It is His way of ridding our souls, no less than purging them, of the guilt that harasses us.
Perhaps you are thinking, “You are right. Confession is important, but isn’t it all in your mind? Wouldn’t it be just as good if you went out and confessed to a fence post?” If a fence post could grant forgiveness, I would be quick to say, “Certainly, go ahead.” But forgiveness comes not by going through the motions of telling someone how you feel, but by the authority of the person who grants forgiveness. Only God can offer forgiveness, and this is why Christianity is unique. Come clean with God. Do away with nice, polite, over the fence conversations with Him! He knows you and He offers forgiveness and cleansing to those who seek it.
Resource reading: Ephesians 5:1-21.
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“The preceding material was written by Dr. Harold J. Sala, and is copyrighted. Reproduction for sale or financial profit is prohibited. Permission to reproduce this article was granted by Guidelines, Inc.”
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