Guilt...

I indicated, a few days ago, that I would blog on guilt, for it is something we all experience to some degree, and all have to learn to deal with. Guilt is a feeling of responsibility or remorse for some offense, be it real or imagined. We all have built into us a moral compass, called a conscience, which directs us and helps us navigate through social circumstances. We all have, at one time or another, chosen to ignore our compass, and the result is that feeling of remorse for violating that which we knew was right.
The problem comes in when we choose to ignore our compass on a consistent basis, for we become callous to the remorse, to the warnings of our conscience. The more calloused we become the harder to hear our conscience, and yet there remains in us that feeling of responsibilty that we continue to bury until we can't stuff it any more and we're forced to deal with it. We all deal with it differently. Some go to counseling, some confess in church, some break down, some blow up, angry at who or whatever gets in their way.
The Bible talks about this phenomena, particularly King David, who writes about it in the Psalms 32. Here's the scene:

David is out on the palace balcony and looks down to the roof below where he sees Bathsheeba taking a bath. Well, it isn't enough for ole Dave to just watch, he's consumed with lust so he sends for her and has sex with her. Now Bathsheeba is married, and this little tryst with the King results in her getting pregnant. She tells David and he recalls her husband from the wars, for he serves David in his army. Well, the husband, Uriah, comes home, meets with Dave, who sends him home to see his wife before heading back to battle, but Uriah chooses not to sleep with her (foiling David's plan) because his men were still on the battlefield and didn't share the opportunity for the same luxury. So David sends word to his General to send Uriah and his men into the thickest of the battle, then draw back and not support him. They follow orders and Uriah is killed in battle. David marries Bathsheeba and in time, is racked with guilt.

The interesting thing is not that David is plagued by his sin- lust, infidelity, murder-  but that it's the guilt of his sin that eats away at him. He writes,"When I kept silent, my bones wasted away through my groaning all day long. For day and night your hand was heavy upon me, my strength was sapped as in the heat of summer. Then I acknowledged my sin to you and did not cover my iniquity. I said, 'I will confess my transgressions to the Lord'- and you forgave the guilt of my sin." Note that it is the guilt of his sin, not the sin itself that ate David up. Why? Because he screwed up his moral compass, and needed to set it right. If we are children of God our sins are forgiven, for Jesus paid that price on the cross, but we still need to confess our sins, to God and to each other, to reset our moral compass, to ease our conscience... Satan knows your sins are forgiven, so he can only convict you through the guilt of your sin. That's why confession is so important- it offsets the dibilitating effects of guilt. So whether it's to a counselor, at church, or in the confidences of a friend, conferss that which troubles you. And be set free from the guilt of your sin... Food for thought...