Our Society And Shame

Shame is the result of a pricked conscience brought on by feelings of guilt produced when we fail to live up to God’s moral standards (cf. Acts 2:14-37; 1 Timothy 1:12-15). Looking at the moral depravity of the past two generations, how long has it been since our present generation has felt any true shame? Shame is to moral man what pain is to physical man — a warning that something is morally wrong and needs our undivided attention. Doctors sometimes withhold painkillers — not because they want the patient to suffer, but because they need an alert patient who can guide them to the real source of their pain.

Just as our physical body has a standard or “norm” by which it measures itself, there is a moral standard by which our spiritual self is measured (1 Corinthians 10:7-18; cf. Romans 2:29; 1 Corinthians 4:1-5). Our present-day society cannot long exist without order and regulations that are “right” for us (Deuteronomy 6:16-25; Psalm 119:7,172; cf. Psalm 78:1-64).

Some patterns of conduct are established by man himself through various governmental laws (Romans 13:1-5). When violated, those who feel a responsibility toward society will feel shamed before their peers (cf. 1 Corinthians 11:14). Such standards may vary with time and customs, but they cannot be ignored without showing complete insensitivity toward our fellowman. In like manner, those who respect God, will feel shame when they violate His laws. The healthful and proper design of shame is to bring us humbly before God, asking forgiveness and thanking Him for His mercies (Luke 15:11-21; Luke 18:9-14). The “pain” we feel, tells us we are in desperate need for the “remedy” to our sin problem (see here), thus bringing us to the Great Physician (cf. Matthew 9:10-13). When the moral conscience is dulled (1 Timothy 4:1-2; cf. Ephesians 4:17-19), there is nothing to tell us that something needs fixing.

The term “shamefacedness” of 1 Timothy 2:9 KJV, was originally “shame-fast,” and can be better understood by comparison with the word “bed-fast” — i.e., “bound” to the bed. Our sense of necessity can “bind” us to standards of God and society, thus aiding us in exercising proper control (cf. 1 Corinthians 9:16-27). So bound, we become a useful integral part of society, and a worker together with God — promoting common good (1 Corinthians 3:1-9). But if we feel no shame, we “cannot blush” (cf. Jeremiah 6:15), and as a result, become a blight upon society and are doomed to spiritual death (Romans 6:20-23). Like the society of Jonah’s day, may God allow our society to express “shame” over its sinful condition, repent, and turn once again back to Him so that He might spare us from eternal damnation (cf. Jonah 3:1-10; Jonah 4:11).

—Mike Riley, Gospel Snippets