the importance of guilt
A guilt free person cannot emphasise, have compassion or look at themselves from an outside perspective.
Guilt is necessary to accept we are not the absolute best, that we make mistakes.
Guilt is a driver to ask for forgiveness.
Guilt has been deemed wrong in pop psychology and progressive circles.
‘Do not feel guilty’ they say.
Feminism says the same as they sell woman dreams of achievement at the expense of their children and household.
Neuroscientist share that guilt is minimised when there are damages to the ventromedial prefrontal cortex. This part of the brain has been found to be important for certain aspects of human morality. Patients who have damage to this brain region or who have had it removed also tend to experience less empathy, embarrassment, and guilt than people without damage to this region.
Guilt is a compass to what is right and what is wrong. It can be a pull or push from the Holy Spirit that can ignite us to do/be better.
Doing a quick search, what is popularised are articles like “how to stop feeling guilty”, “guilt makes a heavy burden”, “I don’t feel guilty, and why you shouldn’t either”.
All these papers are superficial, and point towards the desensitisation of a natural human experience which can help us get closer to God and to the people around us through vulnerability.
But people do not want either.
Real vulnerability is not crying in camera and posting it.
Let’s explore the last title “I don’t feel guilty, and why you shouldn’t either”.
Notions from a specific blog post called ‘i don’t feel guilty, and why you shouldn’t either’
Guilt is a waste of time
I don’t feel guilty because I hate my actions, not myself. (Hatred internasiled because if something you’ve done is not guilt, it is shame)
It’s absolutely okay not to feel guilty; in fact, it’s an act of self-love
When I do something I shouldn’t have, I might feel weighed down for a bit, but then I remind myself that, because I cannot undo it, there’s no point in dwelling on the past
I discourage guilty emotions in myself, and I’ve tried to steer others from them as well.
When you get down to it: guilt is an emotion. Like all emotions, it’s internal, abstract, and unreliable. Most importantly, it’s not useful.
Guilt is not necessary for being a good person, and, in fact, it can be detrimental to living a positive, present life.
Guilt is a form of societal pressure.
Guilt does not make you a good person.
You can recognize what you did wrong and change your behavior without feeling guilty (aka, hating yourself) for what you’ve done. (To be able to recognise you did something wrong you need a degree of guilt, conscience, for it)
If you’re feeling guilty, you’re not in a positive, present mindset.
Guilt is a selfish response to the situation.
The person who wrote these notions stems from an incorrect definition of guilt. And this is the first mistake anyone providing information can ever do. As we describe what we are defending, or are against, erroneously, our conclusion might be right based on the hypothesis, but inherently wrong in the execution and ultimately, not true.
I will not dive in to the philosophy of truth, but if an article starts from the premise that guilt is ‘hating yourself’, when this is the characteristic of shame, not guilt, we can understand why the author is against guilt (aka: truly shame).
The author continues by saying “you can recognize what you did wrong and change your behavior without feeling guilty (aka, hating yourself) for what you’ve done.”
People who lack an understanding of morality will have difficulty abiding by rules or standards for good conduct.
What is the problem if following a system which has been laid out to bring inner peace, love and even salvation?
Ironically, the author (confused about the difference between guilt and shame) goes on to say that what people should do is repent (in her own words)!
“Step 2: Focus on regret and forgiveness.
Once you’ve assessed the situation, it’s time to focus two very important concepts: regret and forgiveness. Regret is similar to guilt, but while guilt focuses on you (“I’m a bad person for doing that thing”), regret focuses on the action (“That thing I did was bad”). Because regret is focused on hating the action and not on hating yourself, it’s a much better jumping off point for forgiveness.”
Then her next steps can be seen as the biblical way of moving forward from guilt (which the author misidentified)
“Step 3: Make amends — if possible and necessary.
Step 4: Look at the big picture of who you are.”
Everyone agrees that guilt arises from feeling someone has done something wrong. The mega-positive movement of ‘your are perfect’ says you should feel that way (‘perfect’) and this is turn minimises your conscience and the potential hurt you cause someone else.
From Mind Tools
“But guilt can also be a very useful emotion. At its most constructive, according to research, it reminds you that you can do better in the future. Experiencing it also shows that you have moral and ethical standards, and empathy.”
As they distinguish in the article, there is healthy or unhealthy guilt.
In Scripture we see false guilt as a result of oppression (usually by the enemy).
Guilt is a gateway for vulnerability.
Hidden guilt is an armoured and hardened heart not ready to confess and become humble.
“The objective guilt is always bad, and those in Christ should never fear that condemnation. But the subjective guilt is good if our conscience is accurately accusing us of wrong and we respond to it correctly. The correct response to our conscience's feeling of guilt is described in 2 Corinthians 7:9–10 “yet now I am happy, not because you were made sorry, but because your sorrow led you to repentance. For you became sorrowful as God intended and so were not harmed in any way by us. 10 Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvationand leaves no regret, but worldly sorrow brings death.”
We can be thankful for guilty feelings because they drive us to seek forgiveness. The moment a person turns from sin to Jesus Christ in faith, his sin is forgiven. Repentance is part of the faith that leads to salvation (Matthew 3:2; 4:17; Acts 3:19).
If you do not feel guilty, you will not be able to repent and earn salvation.
If you believe you are spotless, sinless, you will find it difficult that someone died on the cross for you. If you do not feel remorse after your moral compass, conscience, is indicating something wasn’t right, you will not be forgiven.
All those who confess their sins will be forgiven. Salvation is by grace, and grace forgives. As people deviate more from the Christian faith, they believe their sins will bring them punishment, and this is reflected on how people act in society.
The connotation of being guilty in the justice system means you could get a life sentence. Confessing anything means we’ll most likely be punished. Ironically, Christianity says the opposite. You will get a life sentence if you do not confess your sins, repent, and come to Christ; though Christ you will have everlasting life.
Something to note:
Many times we feel guilty is because we are guilty!
God forgives sin and removes guilt.
Trying to remove guilt yourself will not work, it will fester, it will grow, and you need for more thing to cover it up will grow alongside it.
As for past guilt which has already been confessed and forgiven by the Lord… This is the work of our spiritual enemy, called “the accuser of our brothers” (Revelation 12:10) who relentlessly reminds us of our failures, faults, and sins from the past.
On occasions when guilty feelings arise over sins already confessed and forsaken, reject such feelings as false guilt. The Lord has been true to His promise to forgive. Read and meditate on Psalm 103:8-12.
Ask the Lord to rebuke Satan, your accuser, and ask the Lord to restore the joy that comes with freedom from guilt (Psalm 51:12).
Restoration and joy are the results when we confess our sins and plead with God from a heart full of guilt and sorrow.
What if I have done all that and I still feel guilty?
Note from www.gotquestions.org
Finally, if sin has been confessed, repented of, and forgiven, it is time to move on. Remember that we who have come to Christ have been made new creatures in Him. “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!” (2 Corinthians 5:17). Part of the “old” which has gone is the remembrance of past sins and the guilt they produced. Sadly, some Christians are prone to wallowing in memories of their former sinful lives, memories which should have been dead and buried long ago. This is pointless and runs counter to the victorious Christian life God wants for us. A wise saying is “If God has saved you out of a sewer, don’t dive back in and swim around.”
Scripture
Psalm 103:8-12
The Lord is compassionate and gracious,
slow to anger, abounding in love.
He will not always accuse,
nor will he harbor his anger forever;
he does not treat us as our sins deserve
or repay us according to our iniquities.
For as high as the heavens are above the earth,
so great is his love for those who fear him;
as far as the east is from the west,
so far has he removed our transgressions from us.
Pslam 51:12
Restore to me the joy of your salvation
and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me.
Psalm 32
Blessed is the one
whose transgressions are forgiven,
whose sins are covered.
Blessed is the one
whose sin the Lord does not count against them
and in whose spirit is no deceit.
When I kept silent,
my bones wasted away
through my groaning all day long.
For day and night
your hand was heavy on me;
my strength was sapped
as in the heat of summer.[b]
Then I acknowledged my sin to you
and did not cover up my iniquity.
I said, “I will confess
my transgressions to the Lord.”
And you forgave
the guilt of my sin.
Therefore let all the faithful pray to you
while you may be found;
surely the rising of the mighty waters
will not reach them.
You are my hiding place;
you will protect me from trouble
and surround me with songs of deliverance.
I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go;
I will counsel you with my loving eye on you.
Do not be like the horse or the mule,
which have no understanding
but must be controlled by bit and bridle
or they will not come to you.
Many are the woes of the wicked,
but the Lord’s unfailing love
surrounds the one who trusts in him.
Rejoice in the Lord and be glad, you righteous;
sing, all you who are upright in heart!
Resource:
https://www.mindtools.com/ajkye4s/dealing-with-guilt
gotquestions.org