Attitude

Blog #106 August 23, 2025 

We live a life full of choices. As children it seemed as if the decisions thrust upon us dealt with the simplicity of good or bad. Do I sneak in and get candy out of the cabinet or do I wait until my parents offer. See, good or bad, yes or no; then we grew-up and things got tougher. All of a sudden we were faced with degrees of good and bad. A sometimes-unwanted cousin named "maybe" came to make our choice of yes or no harder. The adversary is the expert at confusing what is good and what is bad, and is able to use "maybe" to his fullest advantage. With this newfound power the adversary became able to influence the very meaning of what is right and what is wrong. Even God's own can suffer from their inability to make simple obvious decisions. The fact is we all face this menace and sometimes the worst things happen.

Ether 3:100 And it bringeth to pass the destruction of all people; for it is built up by the devil, who is the father of all lies; even that same liar who beguiled our first parents;

We do our best to justify turning away from God, but the fact of the matter is, we made the choice. He understands us and that shiny objects can capture our heart and draw us away from Him. He is also aware that eventually we will be able grasp the fact that we did something wrong. We will realize that in our pride and thoughtlessness, we turned away from a loving Father, and like the Prodigal Son we will turn to face the heavy burden of repentance with our loving Father running to meet us. Yes, God is very aware of our ability to choose but He wants us to make choices that cause growth both within us and within the Kingdom. God like the wise Father He is, wants us to gain more from this bad situation than just the knowledge of our mistake. He wants us to learn. He wants us to grow. He wants us to feel safe and secure within the love He offers, and to share with Him the joy He feels at our growth within the Kingdom. When we fail to accept the joy He offers and refuse to accept His chastisement with trust and love it was given, we subject ourselves to an attitude that can destroy both us, and the Kingdom within us. We call that attitude shame.

Psalms 25:20-23
25:20 Oh keep my soul, and deliver me; let me not be ashamed; for I put my trust in thee. 
25:21 Let integrity and uprightness preserve me; for I wait on thee.
25:22 Redeem Israel, O God, out of all his troubles.

Though it is useful in its ability to make us aware of our need for repentance, shame is a crutch. In fact, it is the crutch on which we hobble away from God to hide from His disappointment in us as His child. We must face correction in the way it is given. We must learn and grow. We must trust God and allow the lesson he offers to serve its purpose. God seeks to make us wiser, not prove that He is right and we are wrong. He chastens us that we might learn what He knows and approach the next situation better informed and emboldened by the new knowledge we have been given. 

1 John 4:16-19
4:16 And we have known and believed the love that God hath to us. God is love; and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God, and God in him. 
4:17 Herein is our love made perfect, that we may have boldness in the day of judgment; because as he is, so are we in this world. 
4:18 There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear; because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love. 
4:19 We love him, because he first loved us.

Understand that our shame causes us to fear God. We are not meant to be afraid of God. We are meant to love Him and feel secure in our hearts that He loves us. In that unity, the love between God and us is perfect. In boldness, God can chasten us and our answer to Him will be, “Wow, you’re right; let’s try that again”. The bold heart is humbled by a mistake in the presence of the Lord God, but at the same time emboldened by the perfect love that exists between them and the chance we are given to “do it right”. 

Hebrews 10:16-17
10:16 This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, saith the Lord; I will put my laws into their hearts, and in their minds will I write them;
10:17 And their sins and iniquities will I remember no more.

Consider the depth of meaning in this passage. God says to us that He will remember our sins no more. If they no longer exist in the mind of God, they are gone forever. By holding on to the shame of our sins, are we disputing God's authority? Are we saying to God that we need that shame to be complete in Him regardless of His authority to eliminate them? Are we in shame, challenging God's authority in our life? I believe we are. 

Genesis 3:12 And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they had been naked; and they sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves aprons.

Genesis 3:15 And I, the Lord God, called unto Adam, and said unto him, Where goest thou? And he said, I heard thy voice, in the garden, and I was afraid, because I beheld that I was naked, and I hid myself.

Genesis 3:27 Unto Adam, and also unto his wife, did I, the Lord God, make coats of skins, and clothed them.

This in brief form is the account of the interchange between God, Eve, and Adam at the judgment following their original sin. Notice that immediately following their rebellion both Adam and Eve were so ashamed for each other that they made coverings of leaves. Together in shame they hid when they heard God's voice. They suffered God's wrath and covered themselves with there own shame. God could see their suffering and made coats of skins to cover them. In that act we saw God perform the first animal sacrifice. He killed an animal to cover Adam and Eve's perceived sin of nakedness and relive them of their shame. God knows that our shame cripples us and challenges our ability to truly repent. Who are we to carry our sins in our hearts when God has said that they no longer exist? I believe that God was showing us through Adam and Eve that we are to repent and forget our sins as He has and go forward. Shame is for those who have no Father to lift them up out of their sins. It's as if God were saying to us, "You are no longer naked. I the Lord God have covered you. Leave your shame behind, for we have more important things to accomplish. We have a Kingdom to build".

Proverbs 28:1 The wicked flee when no man pursueth; but the righteous are bold as a lion.

Philippians 1:14 And many of the brethren in the Lord, waxing confident by my bonds, are much more bold to speak the word without fear.

Growing in faith causes us to become bold in the word and the needs of the temporal man are stripped away. Our maturing nature causes us to leave behind all those infantile attitudes that separated us from God. 

Ephesians 4:13-16 
4:13 Till we, in the unity of the faith, all come to the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ; 
4:14 That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive; 
4:15 But speaking the truth in love, may grow up into him in all things, which is the head, even Christ; 
4:16 From whom the whole body fitly joined together and compacted by that which every joint supplieth, according to the effectual working in the measure of every part, maketh increase of the body unto the edifying of itself in love.

Love becomes our reason and the Spirit becomes our guide. Anger, hate, and revenge are no longer a part of our ministry. The path before us is clear and we are able to forge ahead diligently. Mindful of the eternity that surrounds us, we become steadfast, patient, bold in all we attempt, and secure in the knowledge that leads us. Armed with the wisdom of God we take joy in He who is our Father. We allow Him His rightful and righteous place in our lives. 

Romans12:1-5 
12:1 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. 
12:2 And be not conformed to this world; but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what that good, and acceptable, and perfect will of God is. 
12:3 For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly that he ought to think, but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith. 
12:4 For as we have many members in one body, and all members have not the same office; 
12:5 So we, being many, are one body in Christ, and everyone members one of another.  

This is the fellowship we seek. It supports both the strength of individuality and the oneness of purpose. The leadership of our heavenly Father allows both our siblings and us to grow in the truth of our labor for God's purpose. We come to understand that shame is not our way, because it challenges within us the joy we seek and denies within others the joy we wish to share. We are better equipped to make each and every decision we face because we trust God to lead us in the way we should go. The wisdom that surrounds the decision to go forward with God gives us energy unto diligence. Sloth is not an option we even consider. The folly that was our life before covenant becomes a directed effort that fills each morning with expectation and each evening with the serenity that only comes from a day filled with fruitful labor. Such is the fullness of our covenant walk with God. 

What a wonderful way to spend a life.
FRED