Ep 63: Shame

0:00 Well, good morning. I'm Daniel Dalp and this is for your Sunday Morning drive, the short podcast with the goal of providing some motivation, some drive, some encouragement, and maybe even a little bit of a challenge on your way to worship and helping you recenter your mind on those spiritual things on a hectic Sunday morning. We are brought to you by the Ministry League network of podcasts. Ministry League offers many free resources and many different podcasts that you can benefit from. All of them are free and all of them can be found at ministryleague.com or go through their app. I appreciate you joining us this morning or whenever you listen. That being said, let's go ahead and get the show on the road. This is episode 63. Shame. Let's go to church. Are we there yet?

1:00 Do you know what month it is? Well, if you work in the corporate world like I do, then you know it for sure. It's Pride Month, an interesting term for what equates to what is essentially a month long episode of moral gaslighting. But what do I know? You know, I kicked around the idea for this episode for quite a while before deciding which angle to approach it from. And I want to start it out by saying that it doesn't matter who you are or what you've done, but Jesus died for you and he loves you and I love you. But that doesn't mean that any of us get to live in a way contrary to the will of God or to celebrate it with an identity that is tied up in anything but Jesus Christ, much less rejoice in doing so. Now, here's my message for the Christian. Don't let the world use things like this yearly celebration of carnality to gaslight you into doubting what Scripture says and what God thinks about sin, Christian. Don't let it dilute your stance on the importance of seeking righteousness.

2:04 And as long as both of those things are defined by a scripturally forged worldview, you are not wrong. You are not wicked, you are not irrelevant. You are not crazy. You are not a bad person for standing for the truth. Of course, it goes without saying, or I would hope it would go without saying that this must be done in a loving way. And part of that standing for the truth is having a good understanding that God, not us, is who gets to define sin and who gets to define righteousness. And that is why the idea that we would take pride in anything that could separate us from God is alarming, is terrifying, and is so arrogant.

2:45 After all, Isaiah chapter 5 verse 20 says woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who substitute darkness for light and light for darkness, who substitute bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter. But here's the kicker, Christians, we must be honest with ourselves because what I found in my own life is maybe there are sins that we ourselves engage in that we don't feel ashamed of. Maybe the word, the better word there is that we don't feel penitent for. I'll give you an example. Do we preach and do we speak out against sins like homosexuality with all the vigor and passion and attention that we have to offer? But at the same time we give other things a pass, like gluttony or making dishonest business dealings or mistreating our spouses or any of the things in Proverbs chapter 616 through 19.

3:37 Scripture here says there are 6 things which the Lord hates. Yes, seven are an abomination to Him. Haughty eyes, a lying tongue, hands that shed innocent blood, a heart that devises wicked plans, feet that run rapidly to evil, a false witness who utters lies, and one who spreads strife among brothers. You see, Christian, we need to stand against those things with the same tenacity. We need to look at our own lives to use the same standard, God's standard across the board. We need to remove the plank so that we can see the splinter. Preach the truth in love and sin is sin. Don't doubt it. Regardless of what the world says. You aren't crazy for standing up for Jesus.

4:17 But be honest. Be very honest with yourself, Christian, because when pride keeps us from looking inwardly, now that's a real shame. Those are my thoughts for your Sunday morning drive. Now it's time to hear yours. And don't forget, you can always share your thoughts or your comments on the discussion questions each week at for your Sunday Morning dr.com. Our discussion questions today are, do we sometimes have that double standard regarding our personal sins? Do we ever feel pressure to compromise truth for the feelings of others? And how do we stand firmly in the truth but also show love? And lastly, what can we do to root ourselves more deeply in truth to keep from being carried away?