Shame on Me

“Then shall I not be ashamed, when I have respect unto all thy commandments.” (Ps 119:6 AV)

 There’s something to be said for living a life free of shame.  I certainly wish I had.  Shame is something we all live with.  There are things we have done which, if we could, go back and undo them.  Mark Twain once said, “Man is the only animal that blushes, and the only animal that needs to.”  Shame is the conscience’s response to the wickedness we have done.  When the Holy Spirit brings to mind that which is right and we are caught in doing that which is wrong, we feel shame.  Shame is designed to change our behavior.  It is a feeling we would rather not experience.  Shame is something that can be foreseen.  It is predictable.  Thus, avoidable.  Shame is something from which we can be set free.  We are set free from shame when we ask for, and gain, forgiveness.  There is also the shame we feel when others will not forgive.  Even though the LORD has forgiven, others will not. It is at this time we need to learn to forgive ourselves.  Shame is a good thing.  Shame will keep us from repeating the same mistakes over and again.  In our passage, David shares how he plans to avoid as much shame as possible.  That is, respecting and obeying the word of God.

The word for respect means, “to regard with pleasure, favor or care.”  This suggests a positive value is placed on the one regarding the commandments.  He does not see the law and statutes of the word of God as something that will cramp his style or rob him of pleasure.  He sees the law as something which would please him.  He regards the law with an eye towards the blessings obedience and compliance brings.  I am what one might consider a frustrated golfer.  For years, I had a nasty splice.  That is when a right-handed golfer causes his ball to start straight, and then radically veer off to the right as though it took a ninety-degree turn.  My sons used to take me to the driving range just to watch and mock.  They took golfing lessons and all of them hit it straight.  But, did you think they would have tried to fix their old man’s slice?  The more they mocked, the worse it got.  I swung harder and faster only to have that ball go off on a WNW trajectory.  Laugh and laugh and laugh was all they did.  When we played a round of teams, no one wanted the old man.  I cannot figure out why.  I felt like the last kid to be picked for dodge ball.  Embarrassing.  Shameful.

The funny thing about golf is it has a way of drawing in the player to a passion for self-improvement.  When a player goes out on that golf course, he may have other people as competitors, but the greatest of all is himself.  He is driven (no pun intended) to get better.  He may have a look of shame on his face when he las lost the fourth ball in a row to a water hazard.  Yes, been there.  Done that!  All the while his son is rolling on the fairway in tears of laughter.  But over time, listening and learning, applying the laws of geometry and physics, low and behold the slice disappears.  Now, all of a sudden Dad isn’t the last one picked.  All of a sudden he is not losing nearing as many balls to the course’s right side.  No longer is he failing to contribute to his team’s success.  It took a passion to submit to rules that do not change.  The rules of physics and geometry.  It took the discipline of millions of strokes and hundreds of adjustments to finally learn what was there all along.  A simple alignment of grip was all that was needed.  Shame is a good thing.  But the law is far greater.  Want to live without shame?  Then learn to love God’s commandments.  Shame is a monster that can be avoided.