Guilt & Shame

Shame... What is shame? What is guilt? Most importantly, how do they contrast? By definition, shame is "a painful feeling of humiliation or distress caused by the consciousness of wrong or foolish behavior." Guilt is "the fact of having committed a specified or implied offense or crime." They both are similar, but the difference is extremely important to remember. To put it simply, shame is admitting to yourself that there is something wrong with you, while guilt is admitting to yourself that you have done something wrong. So, where does that put you? Which one of those states is deadly? With guilt, you recognize you are in a cycle, and that you have invested your passion in something that will not fulfill you, and that "something" is ungodly.  With this knowledge, you can try to break out of this circle. Well, really what you are doing is humbling yourself and relying on God to pull you out. Your dignity and pride are broken and you recognize that, "I can't do this on my own."  With shame, your dignity is broken, but you cling to your pride. Even if you don't realize it. You see, what you are doing is putting yourself in that cycle and staying in that cycle. You are saying, "I am already a bad person, I might as well  keep on this path." Don't get me wrong this is an easy mentality to slip into. However, you must realize that if you think that there is no hope of getting out of this cycle you are saying that God cannot help you out. That there is no hope. But there is hope. If you are already with God, you cannot fall from him... It's called Perseverance of the Saints.

Every Man's Battle

I will try to be as frank and honest as I can be in my writings as possible. It can often be difficult growing and living as a man of God in today’s society. Temptation to give into the desires of the flesh grow ever stronger as the days pass. I will admit that I have fallen. I have occasionally given way to the Godless sin of lust. My word of advise is to call upon a brother of Christ to assist you and hold you accountable. I ask God to inspire and encourage me to immerse myself in his word. Thank you, God, for saving me from Death’s embrace. May I ever grow stronger in you.    

Darth Vader: "Aidan... you are a father!" Me: "Nooooooooo!"

I was playing with the little girl my mom takes cares of at the park, and a random mom came up to me and told me that I was such a sweet father.... I really didn't expect that. Although it did give me some encouragement and insight to what my future would hold, should I ever become a dad.... But that will be a long, long time away. ;)

Cracked Lense

I’d be lying if I said that there are very few things in life that give me pleasure. However, it can be easy for me to look at life as if the glass is half empty. As I’m growing, both in maturity and in my faith in the Lord,  it is evident to me that I can be so much more happier if I just stopped looking through a cracked lens. You see, that cracked lens is my bitterness and my judgment towards the world. It distorts my view of life and how God is working through it to benefit myself and others. Now, I’m not saying that this is exactly how I live my life. It couldn’t be further from the truth. I’m only just now beginning to understand the significance of this truth. For now, I am going to acknowledge it and search for areas in my life where it is most needed.