Don’t be God-Shamed
Matthew 9:10 – 13
“Later, Matthew invited Jesus and his disciples to his home as dinner guests, along with many tax collectors and other disreputable sinners. 11 But when the Pharisees saw this, they asked his disciples, “Why does your teacher eat with such scum? ”
12 When Jesus heard this, he said, “Healthy people don’t need a doctor—sick people do.” 13 Then he added, “Now go and learn the meaning of this Scripture: ‘I want you to show mercy, not offer sacrifices. For I have come to call not those who think they are righteous, but those who know they are sinners.” (NLT)
Have you ever been God-shamed or have you ever felt God shamed? God-shaming is not a new thing. The Pharisees attempted to shame the disciples of Jesus by making them think they were following an ungodly Rabbi, who ate with tax collectors and sinners.
But Jesus had a response for them – an accurate and applicable one.
In our “post-modern” society, it is quite common to be ridiculed for your faith in Jesus Christ. From your family members to strangers on the street. The thought seems to be that anyone who believes in God must be stupid. Christians have been told that they are worshiping “an imaginary God”. Since God Almighty is a Spirit and therefore invisible to the physical eyes, some mock that He only exists in the imagination of the believer.
And some who acknowledge that He does exist accuse Him of being wicked, mean, harsh, and of crimes that only a criminal could commit. Just like the Pharisees with Jesus, some people think themselves to be more holy, kind, and righteous than God is.
Our scripture today, shows Jesus, God incarnate, the express image, likeness, character of the Godhead, eating with “many tax collectors and other disreputable sinners”. This is not the behavior of a mean, unkind, and unloving person. (Colossians 1:15; Acts 10: 38).
How should we respond?
In Matthew 9:13a, Jesus explained that what He was doing is showing mercy. If Jesus Christ, God incarnate, ate with sinners and did not snob tax collectors – is He kind or harsh? Is God mean or merciful?
1 John 5:4 “For whatever is born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith”.
Stand your ground in love but without compromising your message or accepting the condemnation of your accusers. They just don’t know. Continue to share with them the love of God towards them. Continue to stand FIRM on the truth of God, on the majesty of Who God is, His unspeakable love demonstrated through the gift of salvation for all humanity.
Christianity is the only “‘faith” where the deity is alive, eternal, and can be interacted with by His followers. When we believers have a dynamic, vibrant, ongoing relationship with God, no one can successfully shame us and no one can convincingly label God for you – you know Him, you relate with Him and you have your “labels”/titles for Him according to the word of God and your intimate relationship with Him.
Continue to grow in and enjoy your relationship with the Lord. Continue to speak the truth in love. Let our lives, our steadfastness, and our love speak. In the end, people will see that true love is telling the whole truth – we were not selfishly lying to be liked. They will see that we loved them enough to share the life of God with them, to tell them the whole truth when no one else was.
Luke 7: 34 – 35
The Son of Man has come eating and drinking, and you say, ‘Look, a glutton and a winebibber, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!’ But wisdom is justified by all her children.” (NKJ)
Jesus is discussing the same principle here in Luke 7:. He adds the comment that “wisdom is justified by her children. True wisdom gives birth to good things in the end. Though on-lookers may say that God’s behavior is wrong and shameful, the benefits that come into the lives of those who obey Him and do things His way will speak for itself. Luke 7:35 “But wisdom is shown to be right by the lives of those who follow it.” (NLT)
So be encouraged. God-shaming did not start today. You are in good company. You are in the company of Jesus, and the first Apostles. If the first apostles had allowed God shaming to stop them, they would not have made the progress they made with the gospel.
Let us pray: Pray as God leads you, for yourself, your family, your neighbors, unbelievers, or other Christians.
Application: Encourage yourself and any other believer who may be feeling discouraged from God shaming. Journal it and expect the Holy Spirit to help you with it.
May the grace of our Lord Jesus continue to manifest in and through your life. If would like to receive Jesus as your Lord and Savior, please click on this link
