Mastering Shame...or not

Genesis 4

“You must master it.” That was God’s warning to Cain as the son of Adam struggled against his feelings of hatred for his brother Abel.

Imagine what Cain was experiencing in his spirit. He had failed to please God with his sacrifice. He was shamed in the presence of his brother. Intense feelings crowded out rational thought.

Shame is a powerful emotion. It comes to being when you discover that you aren’t as good as you thought. Shame violates the protective wall that tries to control how others perceive you.

So, what do you do when you feel ashamed before others?

You can run from the sight of those who know of your failings. You can also eliminate them from your presence. The temptation is to believe that if there is no one to see your failure then there will be no shame to experience.
Either way is wrong.

What was God’s advice to Cain? Master the temptation.

How? Go into hiding? Eliminate the source of shame? Both are wrong.

That only left one option. Cain could have offered another sacrifice. He could have followed God’s instruction for the sacrifice and allowed God to approve of the make-good. God said that was all that was necessary.

Escaping shame is a matter of admitting a wrong and correcting it. If you don’t mind being wrong, you won’t experience shame.

Cain, however, wasn’t interesting in being good. He wanted to appear good. Or, at least better than Abel.

Shame is a powerful emotion. Humility is the only way out. Humility prevents humiliation.