“I don’t even care!"
Defiance comes in all shapes and sizes, and in this case, it was in the shape of an 7 year old boy. He was in trouble again, and it was very clear that he really did care. A lot.
It was clear that he would do just about anything to silence the voice deep in his heart that says, “I’ve blown it. No one here will accept me or like me ever”.
Even though this little boy would swear at me, would flip me the bird, would straight up say, “I hate you!” I couldn’t help but feel a great deal of warmth and affection for him, since it was so obvious that he was hurting and wanted to be accepted and loved. I’d like to think that he warmed up to me over the time I spent with him working at the Boys and Girls club, but I don’t know if I am the most unbiased judge of that.
As adults, we can sometimes believe that we have matured far beyond the behaviour of children, when, in many cases, we just get better at hiding our little temper tantrums and insecurities. It is sad in a way, because the better we get at silencing the hurt and tenderness in our hearts, the more we alienate those who might have compassion for us.
Which brings me to #ShouldYourAbortion.
I suppose the first order of business is trying to persuade you that the twitter trend #ShoutYourAbortion is the same thing as an 8 year old saying, “I don’t even care”. Perhaps I cannot be compelling, but let me say just one thing: If all these women really did not feel any shame or guilt over their abortion, why do they feel the need to, “Shout their abortion?”
Yes, I know, it is for the women who DO feel shame: those women who are being ‘helped’ by this twitter trend. As though, if you feel guilt about something, just surround yourself with people that say, ‘No, you should not feel guilty!’ That will make the guilt go away.
So that is the solution. When you feel bad about something you do, or that you have done, simply take to the internet, and proclaim how you, “don’t feel bad at all”. That is the cure for shame.
If you really think that is the cure for shame, then I really don’t have anything more to say to you. However, if you have found this well to be dry, if you have found that no matter how loudly you “ShoutYourAbortion,” or any other one of the things that make you feel shame, There is another cure. One that does not just deal with subjective feelings, but the objective reality of guilt.
His name is Jesus Christ.
He says to us, "Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” (Matthew 11:28 - 30).
Is your throat sore from shouting your abortion, or whatever guilt you feel? Are you running out of breathe? Come to Him.
He had all our sins, all our wrongs put on Him. They seeped into His pours and blackened His soul, those things that He never did. But He took them on Himself so that we could be pure and righteous before the God of all Creation; the Creator of all reality. That means that when He says, “You My daughter, My son, are clean”, it is not just His opinion, it is reality.
He does not offer a stuffy, religious life, but a life full of JOY. God is not anti-sex, anti-pleasure, and certainly not anti-woman. He created sex, and pleasure, and knows how they work best. His ways sometimes seem counter-intuitive, but again, how is the intuitive, instant gratification method working for us so far?
Speaking of counter-intuitive, we think that in order to be free from shame, we CANNOT admit that we did something wrong. The opposite is true. Freedom from shame and guilt comes from admitting before Christ, and perhaps others, that we DID do something wrong. We all have done a lot wrong.
Will you take this cure for shame, or continue the fruitless search for another?
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