Closet of Shame

Hello All,

What are you ashamed of? What aspects of yourself do you hide from others?

Are you afraid of opening your heart to others? Are you afraid of getting hurt?

Closet of Shame

By Joanne Liaw Sook Ling (31 December 2016)

Hiding in a closet of shame

Ashamed of what comes with our name

Shielding ourselves in steel armour

Hiding our feelings from others

Hiding in a closet of shame

Hiding is no longer a game

Not a game we played as children

Our deepest fears are well hidden

Hiding in a closet of shame

By hiding, what do we gain?

We gain the protection we crave

By locking our hearts in the grave

Hiding in a closet of shame

Why are we hiding from our pain?

Why are we hiding from the Light?

The bright Light that renders us sight

Hiding in a closet of shame

We're sinners and we're all the same

Why hide our weakness with pretense?

We're all sinners under God's lens

Hiding in a closet of shame

Hiding from Him who took our pain

Hide no more; Christ has set us free

He's vanquished our shame on the tree

Now, open the closet of shame

Embrace Him who calls you by name

Open your heart; receive His love

Share the love from heaven above

Points for Reflection:

Looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.

(Hebrews 12:2 ESV)

·       Since the fall of men in the Garden of Eden, we have been hiding from God and each other. As much as we try to deny it, shame is deeply embedded in our unconscious mind.

·       When Adam and Eve chose to disobey God and reject Him as their King, they felt ashamed of their rebellion and hid from Him.

·       In a dangerous and ruthless world, we were taught to armour up, hide our weaknesses and protect ourselves from getting hurt.

·       Although discretion should be used when revealing hidden parts of our lives to others, many of us take precautions to the extreme. We hide from God and our loved ones. We even hide from ourselves, denying truths that we wish to evade.

·       We’re all sinners and we’re all the same. Shame is a by-product of sin. But Christ took our sin and the shame that comes along with it. He has vanquished them on the cross.

·       The Gospel liberates us from the closet of shame. Open the closet and embrace the freedom you have in Christ. Open your guarded heart to God, your loved ones and the Body of Christ.