Feeling Guilty
What makes you feel guilty? Do you feel guilty about poverty both in the UK and in countries where poverty is endemic when you always have plenty by comparison? Do you feel guilty about letting people down? Or have you come to an agreement with yourself that you won’t feel guilty so that you can avoid the discomfort that guilt creates?
Guilt is part of being human and if we lose our sense of guilt we lose an important part of our humanity. The sense of guilt we have stems from the workings of our conscience. Without it we are in danger of losing other sensations as well, such as love and compassion. Guilt makes us realise our need for forgiveness for the pain that we have caused to others. Guilt that is not addressed, however, is bad. When we have pain we go to see our doctor – and if we don’t then the consequences can be dire. Pain is not nice but it is necessary if we are to recognise that we are in need of healing. Guilt is just the same – it tells us that we have issues that must be addressed. Life is messy and we constantly fall short of what we could and should be. It is by coming to the cross that we find the full forgiveness that God offers us through Jesus’ death resurrection.
Without recognising and acknowledging our guilt, we cannot receive the forgiveness we need. Guilt is not a thing we should wallow in but something we need to act upon. Guilt is a valuable sensation that helps us to be fully human and if we deaden it then we lessen our own God-given humanity.
David Bradshaw
February 2007