Let me introduce you to the Guilt Grub.
Ravenous and relentless, the Guilt Grub chews on you whenever you think you have done something wrong, draining you of life-sap and energy.
The amazing thing about the Guilt Grub is that he not only gnaws on you while you judge yourself; he can also eat at you because of what someone else has said about you.
As he feeds, the Guilt Grub leaves behind secretions of insecurity, indecisiveness and shame. We hate the Guilt Grub, but for some reason, many of us continue to allow him to eat on us day after day. It’s almost as if we think guilt is good for us.
However, anything that sucks away life is not from the Life-Giver.
Let’s dig deeper.
The English word “guilt” is used 95 times in 87 verses of the New American Standard Bible. Whether originally in Hebrew or Greek, the meaning always refers to the fault of a particular person committing a crime. “Guilty”, used 44 times in the same version, also points to the offense.
The difficulty is that neither of these words help us with the feeling that guilt has now come to mean. Both of these definitions deal with a legal point, not the gut-wrenching emotion of how we feel about it.
So what causes the Guilt Grub to emerge within us?
Many Christians believe this is an hatchling of the Holy Spirit.
But, there is nowhere in the Word of God that lays this egg. It’s just not true.
The Holy Spirit has two roles regarding sin:
- to convict the world (John 16:8-9)
- to guide His chosen (John 16:13)
In God’s dealing with unbelievers, He simply brings them to Light by disclosing the secrets of their heart (1 Corinthians 14:25). He already knows what is in the dark and works to uncover it (Daniel 2:22). Even, the Son wasn’t sent into the world to nit-pick, but to free (John 3:17).
On the other hand, accusation is the full-time job of God’s adversary, the devil. Every scheme of satan is aimed at stealth, murder and destruction and he accomplishes this by pouring on the guilt day and night (John 10:10; Revelation 12:10). So much the fact that the rabbis actually made up a new Greek word “kategor”, to be one of satan’s names. Simply translated, “kategor’ means “the accuser”.
As we think about it, it’s pretty absurd to think that our Father and kategor would have the same job, don’t you think? “If satan is divided against himself, how shall his kingdom stand” (Luke 11:18)?
No, when you feel the bite of the Guilt Grub, you can be assured of his source. He’s always hatched from the spiritual egg sac of darkness.
So, tell me…gonna let him take another bite on you today?
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