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The Struggle with Guilt

By September 6, 20112 Comments

True confessions:  I feel guilty.  A lot.

Virtually every woman I know feels guilty much of the time, too.   We struggle with guilt over being good enough moms, wives, daughter and friends.  We feel guilty about what we eat and how much exercise we get (or don’t get!)  We feel guilty over burning the candle at both ends. And if we aren’t running ourselves ragged, we feel guilty about that, too.  We feel guilty at home. We feel guilty at work.  We feel guilty at play.  Sometimes, we even feel guilty at rest. We feel guilty over losing our patience.  We feel guilty about speaking our mind, and guilty when we don’t.

Does all this guilt sound as crazy to you as it does to me? After all, what does our collective guilt accomplish–really?  Not much, except for more guilt.

So what’s a girl to do?  Does guilt ever have a positive, productive purpose?

Guilt can have a positive purpose–if it’s conviction from the Holy Spirit, which leads us to positive change.  This is what the Bible calls “repentance”.  Sometimes we should feel guilty. If we don’t, it means our conscience isn’t working properly.  But more often than not, women struggle with a kind of guilt that works against positive change, rather than towards it.  This kind of guilt only leads to shame, feelings of worthlessness, lack of hope, and discouragement.  It’s the kind of guilt that whispers “you’ll never measure up”, “you are a terrible person”, or “how can you even call yourself a Christian?”  It leaves us feeling unmotivated and distant from God.

But God has a better way! I videoed a segment for my home church a few days ago and we had a few extra minutes after the taping, so the producer asked me to do a short segment on guilt sort of “on the fly”, while he kept the camera rolling.  Check out the video below for tips to deal with the ever-present struggle with guilt.

Donna Jones- Conviction vs Condemnation from CrosslineTV on Vimeo.

donnajones

More than a Bible teacher, Donna is a self-described Bible explainer. A colorful storyteller who combines Biblical truth with real-life anecdotes, her messages not only help listeners understand God’s Word, but most important, grasp how to live it out in real life.

2 Comments

  • Laurie Guy says:

    I listened to your video about condemnation and conviction. At times, I feel guilty for feeling guilty. What’s that about? Now I know. If I am unkind to (usually my husband Chris gets the ugliness because Ryan has his own apartment and Jen is not home much and for some reason, I feel guiltier when I bark at them) and I apologize, I feel so much peace afterward. It doesn’t mean that what I did was okay, it means that I acknowledged that what I did was not okay. After I bark, my husband will always say, “Do you feel better now?” No! I feel worse because of what I just said to you. god is good! Amen

    Donna, your light shines for Christ. You are a beautiful woman inside and out. I am blessed to know you as are many, many women at Crossline Church. God Bless you!

  • Laurie Guy says:

    Oh no!!! I made the G lower case for God. He is always upper case. Please, please change this when you moderate it! Yikes!!! I can’t believe I did that.