Every person on planet earth has felt shame. The successful business owner. The man with the boat, the woman who lives in the cardboard box. The author. The school teacher. The preacher. Everyone has come face-to-face with shame.
Here’s why.
Revelation 12:10 says that Satan is the Accuser and that He accuses us before God day and night. Not only does he accuse us to God, telling him how horrible we are, but he accuses us to ourselves, telling us how horrible we are.
We have all struggled with shame because the voice of the accuser is the voice of shame. We have all heard it.
Here is what it sounds like:
You are ugly.
You can’t love.
You deserved it.
It’s your fault.
You are not enough.
No one will accept you.
You are worthless.
There is something wrong with you.
You’ll never fit in.
You’re inadequate.
You can’t.
You’ll never. . .
You’re a weirdo.
Satan is not a respecter of persons or gender. Shame isn’t a woman problem more than it’s a man problem - it’s a human problem. Ever since Adam and Eve hid in the garden and first covered themselves with leaves, shame has been a problem for the human race. Because this is true, we need to learn how it comes to us, how the voice of shame speaks.
Of course the voice of shame is the voice of the enemy, but Satan can also use someone close to us or close to us in proximity to be his voice of shame.
Remember that in the book of Job that Satan’s goal was to get Job to curse God. Then later, after tragedy upon tragedy had happened to job by Satan’s doing, Job’s wife said to Job, “Curse God and die!”
My point is this: In the same way that the enemy could use Job’s wife to tempt him to curse God, he can also use those around us to shame us.
So, the next time someone shames you, ask yourself if it sounds just like the enemy. Next, don’t receive the labels that are being hurled at you. Don’t let them stick. Instead accept God’s truth about who you are and remember that you are in a spiritual battle and that there is more going on than what eyes can see. Finally, pray for the person who is shaming you and forgive them. Let love be your spiritual weapon to destroy the devil’s deeds.
