We Weren't Made to Hide

Something that has been on my heart recently, as I go through my struggles of life, the weeks of therapy, and my psychology schooling, is the power of shame and vulnerability.

I struggle a lot with shame in my life-- my therapist calls them my "shame spirals." I have a few different shame spirals that I go into, depending on the situation. There is my shame spiral of "something is wrong with me," "it's all my fault," and, "everyone hates me."

You see, shame is cool psychologically, but have you ever looked at shame from a biblical perspective? Shame is something that isn’t new. In fact, it’s been around since the moment Eve took a bite of that fruit.

In Genesis 3:7, the moment Adam and Eve took a bite of the fruit, it says, “At that moment, their eyes were opened, and they suddenly felt shame at their nakedness. So, they sewed fig leaves together to cover themselves.”

I want to talk about two things from this passage—one, shame. We weren’t created to live in shame. In fact, in the chapter before this it talks about how right when God created Adam and Eve, and before the curse of sin was fallen on this world, verse 25 of chapter two says “Now the man and his wife were both naked and they felt no shame.” See how we were created to be in perfect relationship with God without sin?

The second thing I wanted to touch on from this passage is the sentence “So they sewed fig leaves together to cover themselves.” Notice how it says “to cover themselves?” Well, hate to break it to you, Adam and Eve, but God is the only one who can truly cover us.

In Psalms 32:1 it says “Blessed is the one whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered.” Jesus’ blood that was poured out for each and every one of us, is the only thing that has enough power to truly cover us.

"Vulnerability is the core of our shame, fear, and struggle for worthiness, but it's also the birthplace of joy, creativity, belonging, and love."- Brene Brown

Guys, we HAVE to talk about shame, because it's ruling our lives. We were created to live in relationships, not to hide.

I remember the first time confessing something really, really deep to a group of friends at a conference. To my surprise, I wasn't the only one struggling with this sin. The two most powerful words when being vulnerable with someone are "me, too." But, also keep in mind that in order to get to the "me, too," someone has to be vulnerable first.

"Shame dies when stories are told in safe places." - Ann Voskamp

When you share some of your darkest and icky feeling "stuff," shame no longer has a place in your life. Be honest and vulnerable with a friend you trust, your therapist, a pastor, etc. It's definitely not easy, trust me, but there is SO much power when you do. Bring your shame into the light so that you no longer have to live in it.