How Embarrassing!
January 31, 2005
How Embarrassing!
Psalms 69:5-7
O God, it is thou who dost know my folly, and my wrongs are not hidden from Thee. May those who wait for thee not be ashamed through me, O lord God of hosts; May those who seek Thee not be dishonored through me, O God of Israel, because for Thy sake I have borne reproach;
Dishonor has covered my face.
All of us have at one time or another experienced an embarrassing moment. In fact, I have lots of such moments under my belt, specifically in the area of communication. Speaking from first hand experience, I could even dub myself as the queen of foot-in-mouth syndrome in that I have a knack for saying the wrong thing at the wrong time. It would be very embarrassing to be shown how foolish and sometimes hurtful my words were, so I decided to search for scriptures that dealt directly with embarrassment. My New American Standard Bible does not mention the word embarrassment or various forms of the base word. However, it does say some interesting things about being ashamed.
Today’s verses are found in the book of Psalms. In 69:5 we find David admitting that God knows of his sins. He then pleads that he will not be an embarrassment to those who are seeking God (vs 6). David has earned ridicule through sin (vs 7), reemphasized throughout the chapter, particularly in verses 20-21. When people look at him, they see shame. If we expand the meaning to include David, himself, we see that he recognizes sin causes shame or embarrassment to himself as well as others.
In fact, there are serious consequences for David’s sin as seen in verse 19. So we must consider embarrassment to be an indicator of sin. Physiologically, this may involve over active sweat glands, dry mouth, increased heart rate, paralysis, or a flushed feeling. Our body’s warning lights flash to tell us that there is sin to be dealt with. If we are the guilty party, then we must come before God’s throne in prayer, acknowledge our sin, ask for forgiveness, and ask for His power to cleanse us and help us overcome this sin in the future. Also, we need to go to the person or persons that were affected by our sin and seek their forgiveness.
Embarrassment due to another’s sin puts us in a position to lovingly help that person to deal with the sin. Again, go to God in prayer asking for wisdom and direction in approaching the person. All of this seems like a lot to accomplish, but isn’t it wonderful that we have a Maker who makes it possible to fix embarrassing moments?
O Great Father God, how terribly sinful I am. I come before you asking for forgiveness for my wrongdoings and to ease the effects of my hurtful words. Thank you, gracious Lord, for making me embarrassed, giving me this as a warning of my sinfulness. Help me to turn around and start anew with strength to conquer my sin. In your Son’s name, amen.
O God, it is thou who dost know my folly, and my wrongs are not hidden from Thee. May those who wait for thee not be ashamed through me, O lord God of hosts; May those who seek Thee not be dishonored through me, O God of Israel, because for Thy sake I have borne reproach;
Dishonor has covered my face.
All of us have at one time or another experienced an embarrassing moment. In fact, I have lots of such moments under my belt, specifically in the area of communication. Speaking from first hand experience, I could even dub myself as the queen of foot-in-mouth syndrome in that I have a knack for saying the wrong thing at the wrong time. It would be very embarrassing to be shown how foolish and sometimes hurtful my words were, so I decided to search for scriptures that dealt directly with embarrassment. My New American Standard Bible does not mention the word embarrassment or various forms of the base word. However, it does say some interesting things about being ashamed.
Today’s verses are found in the book of Psalms. In 69:5 we find David admitting that God knows of his sins. He then pleads that he will not be an embarrassment to those who are seeking God (vs 6). David has earned ridicule through sin (vs 7), reemphasized throughout the chapter, particularly in verses 20-21. When people look at him, they see shame. If we expand the meaning to include David, himself, we see that he recognizes sin causes shame or embarrassment to himself as well as others.
In fact, there are serious consequences for David’s sin as seen in verse 19. So we must consider embarrassment to be an indicator of sin. Physiologically, this may involve over active sweat glands, dry mouth, increased heart rate, paralysis, or a flushed feeling. Our body’s warning lights flash to tell us that there is sin to be dealt with. If we are the guilty party, then we must come before God’s throne in prayer, acknowledge our sin, ask for forgiveness, and ask for His power to cleanse us and help us overcome this sin in the future. Also, we need to go to the person or persons that were affected by our sin and seek their forgiveness.
Embarrassment due to another’s sin puts us in a position to lovingly help that person to deal with the sin. Again, go to God in prayer asking for wisdom and direction in approaching the person. All of this seems like a lot to accomplish, but isn’t it wonderful that we have a Maker who makes it possible to fix embarrassing moments?
O Great Father God, how terribly sinful I am. I come before you asking for forgiveness for my wrongdoings and to ease the effects of my hurtful words. Thank you, gracious Lord, for making me embarrassed, giving me this as a warning of my sinfulness. Help me to turn around and start anew with strength to conquer my sin. In your Son’s name, amen.
posted by Karen Vaughn | 7:49 AM
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