Shame

"Through levity of heart and carelessness about our faults, we do not see the pitiful state of our souls, but often idly laugh, when in reason we should weep." - Thomas a Kempis

One thing God has shown me in the past year, through many mistakes of watching many of the wrong movies and tv shows as well as making many wrong jokes and laughing at many wrong jokes, is one of the Enemy's greatest weapons in todays culture. The Enemy has been able to get us to laugh at our shame. Look at the shows and movies we watch: Jack Ass, Borat, anything with Will Ferrel, the Office, and much more. I own a Will Ferrel movie, I own the second season of the Office. I've seen Will Ferrel on the Tonight Show in his underwear and having everyone laugh at him. I agree with Kempis, we should weep over these things or at least feel some sorrow for the "human condition" (a term orignally used to show that man has faults in a negative light, and now we use the term to celebrate film makers because they show this "honest" and therefore beautiful depiction of our imperfect nature; man has grown to love his imperfection). Intsead we laugh. And once we laugh at our shame, we open the door to acceptance and celebration of this shame.

In Eden, Adam and Eve for the first time experienced shame when they realized they were naked. Why then? The "human condition" settled in and they found that they could no longer view their nakedness in the way it was intended. Once they decided to define things, they could justify anything and that is the reason why they couldn't justify their nakedness. Shame hits when we realize things are not as they intented to be. When we laugh at our shame we lose the way we should look at our shame, and thus we not only lose realization of things being wrong but we lose the possibility of that realization. Its a good trick, a horrible trick, a deadly trick.