Coming out of a shameful past

There is a novel titled “The Scarlet Letter” by Nathaniel Halton. It is about a lady named Mrs. Hester Prynne, who was caught in the act of adultery. It was a shameful thing in that highly moralistic village. As a punishment, on every dress she had and would ever have, a big letter “A” was printed on them. The letter “A” means Adultery. It was done so that everybody would learn a lesson. But she decided to come out of a very shameful past.

She had one child she single-handedly raised as a single mother.She started taking part in community development activities. She left her adulterous life and started doing good to all that came her way in the community, even with the letter “A” stigma on every dress she wore.

Ten years later, children who grew up in that village, who knew the woman and her good works started asking their parents whether the letter “A” on her dress stood for “Angel.”

Mrs. Prynne started to make a brand new history for herself. Since Adam and Eve brought sin to this world, there is no person who has passed or will pass through planet earth that will not be ashamed of something he/she did or that something shameful might not have happened to.

But any person can come out of the classroom of shame like Mrs. Hester Prynne did. David brought shame upon himself, when he committed adultery with Bathsheba. He lamented over it in Psalms 51 because he had a sense of shame. But having a sense of shame is different from living a life of shame. He handled shame through prayer and praise. In psalms 25:1-3 David prayed, “Unto thee oh Lord do I lift up my soul. Oh my God, I trust in thee let me not be ashamed… Let none that wait on thee be ashamed…” David came out.

You might have been jailed, jilted, divorced or disengaged from work, etc. Oh! my, the shame of being jilted or divorced can be very painful. Many people who have passed through the classroom of divorce end up almost permanently in the classroom of shame. You must not remain there. Meet a man of God and tell him the truth that led to the divorce. He or she will counsel you on what to do.

Jesus Christ also passed through the classroom of shame, “…despising the SHAME…” Hebrews 12:2.Do you know what? A double blessing can come out of the shame that some people want to bring on you. But you must come out first before the blessing will come. Believe me, it is a promise from the Bible. It is in Isaiah 61:7, “For your SHAME, ye shall have double…”

Have you done something that brings you back to that classroom of shame as a young person, man or woman? Keep taking your mind off that rear view mirror each time that shameful thought comes to your mind. Look instead at the windscreen of your car of life and drive on.

A man of God by name A. W. Tozer once said, “you cannot prevent a bird from flying over your head, but you can prevent it from building a nest on your head.” That is how you may not be able to completely forget about the thought of how you brought shame on yourself or people brought shame on you. But you can each time prevent that shameful thought of the past not to build a nest on your mind and disturb or distort your destiny journey. Learn to love yourself by thinking forward and not backward. Learn to enjoy life despite a shameful past. Love you.