Shame and the Root of Our Desires

In Matthew 16, our Lord describes to His disciples how He will suffer at the hands of the chief priests, elders, and scribes; be killed; and then be raised the third day. Peter’s response is one that I think we all could relate to, but he receives a rebuke from Jesus.

Then Peter took him, and began to rebuke him, saying, Be it far from thee, Lord: this shall not be unto thee. But he turned, and said unto Peter, Get thee behind me, Satan: thou art an offence unto me: for thou savourest not the things that be of God, but those that be of men.
Matthew 16:22–23

The word that caught my attention in our Lord’s reply is “savourest.” The 1828 Webster’s definition of the English word savor is “to like; to delight in; to favor.” Thus, to savor is to set your affection upon something.

In this exchange, Christ accuses Peter of setting his affection on the things of men, and not the things of God. Isn’t this true? The One you have been following and the One you love is saying that He will suffer and be killed. That doesn’t match what we would want for someone we love and admire. The “ways of man” would desire health and wealth for Jesus. He earned it. Look at all the good He has done! We want Him to be king!

I have heard Pastor Balzamo say that in sinful man, we have a broken “wanter.” We frequently don’t want the things that God wants. We savor the things of man rather than the things of God. Isn’t that really the root of all sin?

Connecting Wrong Desires to Shame

I think a similar concept is described in the words of Christ below:

Whosoever therefore shall be ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation; of him also shall the Son of man be ashamed, when he cometh in the glory of his Father with the holy angels. Mark 8:38

Webster’s 1828 dictionary defines shame as “a painful sensation excited by a consciousness of guilt, or of having done something which injures reputation; or by the exposure of that which nature or modesty prompts us to conceal.” Shame was the first sensation Adam and Eve felt immediately after their sin in the garden of Eden. Notice the quick transition that sin brought into the world:

Before Sin: And they were both naked, the man and his wife, and were not ashamed. Genesis 2:25

After Sin: And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves aprons. Genesis 3:7

To be ashamed is simply the verb form of shame. Have you ever had a conversation with an unbeliever where a topic came up where your faith in Christ, the attributes of Christ, or the Word of God would be a correct and right thing to share, and you felt uncomfortable and decided not to? You put your words in place of where words about Christ would have been fitting. Thinking back on our definition of shame, it is as if you felt a painful sensation about the potential of doing something that might injure your reputation (before men). You were ashamed of Christ and His words. I’ve been there far too often. I pray daily to avoid this sin. It remains a constant temptation.

But what about Christ is there to cause shame? Christ is infinitely good and valuable and true. The topic of Christ can never bring about true shame. What about Him can hurt your true reputation (your good name)? There is NEVER a time in which there is an opportunity to speak about Christ that doing so would not be good.

Going back to the idea of “savoring” from above, when we are ashamed of Christ, what do we set our affections on? The ways of man, or the way of God? Clearly not the ways of God, but it is a particular aspect of the “ways of man.” It is the “ways of my flesh.” Not just mankind, but me! The ways of man would suggest that it would be foolish to say something that may jeopardize your reputation. “There’s no need to do that. It’s not worth it.”

Notice from what Christ shares in Mark 8:38 that there is something that Christ is ashamed of.

Whosoever therefore shall be ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation; of him also shall the Son of man be ashamed, when he cometh in the glory of his Father with the holy angels. Mark 8:38

We know that it is not His guilt, because He is never guilty. We are created to bring glory to God and His Son (e.g. 1 Corinthians 10:31). Instead, our disregard for Him makes us offensive to Him. We tarnish the good name of Christ to those we are talking to. If we don’t share Christ’s good work in our lives, then it must be that Christ hasn’t worked in our lives. Our reputation is more important than His. Does this bring Him glory?

Would not Christ respond in a similar way to that as He did to Peter?

“…Get thee behind me, Satan: thou art an offence unto me…” If you are ashamed of Christ, He will be ashamed of you (have no part in you). Why? Because you are an offense to Him. How frightening to think of being an offense to the Savior of the world! Matthew 16:23

Setting Your Affections Straight

The Apostle Paul writes to the Colossians, Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth. (Colossians 3:2)

What can we do to avoid the trap of desiring the ways of man over the ways of God? What can prevent the sin of shame in our Savior?

1. We can study the Word of God

Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. 2 Timothy 2:15

The more we know about how infinitely valuable and good Christ is, the more we can recognize that His worth is greater than ours! The less you read the Word of God, the more you will be convinced by the world (this adulterous and sinful generation) that there are other things more important than God and His Son such as your reputation.

2. We can trust in God more than we trust in ourselves

O keep my soul, and deliver me: Let me not be ashamed; for I put my trust in thee. Psalm 25:20

Notice that this Psalm essentially sounds like a prayer. We can put this desire to trust Him into prayer for the grace to do so.

3. We can recognize the power of God behind His message of redemption to mankind

For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek. Romans 1:16

To conceal the Gospel for the sake of our reputation hides the infallible and omnipotent behind the fallible and impotent. We have no power to save.

When we are ashamed of our Savior, we expose the “root sin” of setting our affections on ourselves. Protecting our reputation in an adulterous and sinful generation OVER protecting the reputation and name of almighty God and His Son.

Lord, let us stamp out this pride and lift your name up at EVERY opportunity!

The views expressed in this opinion piece are the author’s own and do not necessarily represent those of The Reason Together Podcast.