Guilt | Driving Toward the Morning Sun

In Deuteronomy Moses reviews the giving of the Ten Commandments and reminds us that he didn’t just come down from the mountain with the Commandments written on tablets as we sometimes imagine, but that the “LORD spoke with you [Israel] face to face at the mountain, out of the midst of the fire”[1] Terrified of this manifestation of God, the people responded “we will hear and do it.”[2]

God was pleased that the people pledged their obedience, but lamented to Moses in Deuteronomy 5:29, “Oh that they had such a heart as this always, to fear me and to keep all my commandments, that it might go well with them and with their descendants forever!” In this statement, our Holy, all-knowing God makes 2 points: that obeying Him is in Israel’s best interest, and also that they don’t always do it. Not only did they not always obey Him, but they often didn’t have “such a heart” for it. They didn’t even intend to obey Him, whether neglectfully or intentionally. Like ancient Israel, we often hear the Ten Commandments and the rest of God’s Word and instead of saying “we will hear and do it,” we continue along our own path.

James describes a similar scenario in a New Testament context:

“For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks intently at his natural face in a mirror. For he looks at himself and goes away and at once forgets what he was like. But the one who looks into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and perseveres, being no hearer who forgets but a doer who acts, he will be blessed in his doing.” – James 1:23-25

James compares hearing God’s law to seeing in a mirror what we really look like: we look like sinners who fall short of perfect obedience and need God’s grace. God didn’t give us His “perfect law” to condemn us, although because we aren’t perfect His law does condemn us. He didn’t give the law to make us feel bad, although any of us can struggle with a guilty conscience. He gave His commands because they’re what’s best for us, and along with them He gave His Son so we could find our way back to Him. We are blessed when we do what He wants because God gave His commands so “that it might go well with them and with their descendants forever.” For those with faith in Christ, God’s “perfect law” is a “law of liberty” that frees us to be blessed by acting on God’s will for us. We have liberty not to sin.

But when we spend too much time looking in the mirror at ourselves, we risk feeling condemned and guilty. We risk seeing God’s law and our failure to keep it as the end of the story. Therefore, we must instead focus on our God of grace, who through Christ gives us liberty and freedom from condemnation and guilt. As Paul wrote in Romans 8:1-2, “There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death.”

When we don’t feel we have “such a heart” as to follow God always (which is probably often), let it drive us to dwell on the character of our God, who revealed Himself to Moses as “the LORD, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness”[3]

Don’t start with the man in the mirror. Start with Him.

“When the outlook is grim, try the uplook!” – Warren Wiersbe

[1] Deuteronomy 5:4
[2] Deuteronomy 5:27
[3] Deuteronomy 34:6b

Some days we are able to follow Jesus’ advice in Matthew 6:34 – “Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.” Other days we feel overwhelmed by our responsibilities, and on some days, we feel like we’re carrying all the problems of the world. Whether it’s something in a sermon, on the news, a book we’ve read, the multitude of notifications on our phones and other devices, or something in our own conscience, we feel that the world needs more than we have to give.

In the linked article, author Kevin DeYoung writes that “most Christians hear these urgent calls to do more (or feel them internally already) and learn to live with a low-level guilt that comes from not doing enough. We know we can always pray more and give more and evangelize more, so we get used to living in a state of mild disappointment with ourselves.” He shares some thoughts on how to relieve this anxiety and focus on what we need to focus on. After all, even Jesus “did not try to do it all. And yet, he did everything God asked him to do.”

(Estimated reading time 7 minutes)

I discovered this through fellow blogger Barbara Harper, who posts a weekly list of good reads on Saturday.

https://kevindeyoung.org/the-crushing-obligation-to-keep-doing-more-and-more/