John 8:44

False Guilt, Pseudo-guilt or counterfeit guilt

Satan is a liar and the father of lies. He puts lies into our minds to make us feel guilty. False guilt is very real, but not true. False guilt can grip us and tear us apart.

On the other hand, true guilt exists when we feel a valid sense of shame - for having sinned against God and having not depended upon the blood of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of our sins.

General Examples of False Guilt:

* I pay a friend a visit, feeling guilty for not seeing him for a while; then when I am ready to leave he says, 'Leaving so soon?' And now I feel worse for visiting him.

* I feel guilty for saying 'no' to a preaching invitation(when the church felt 'led' to invite me), but feel guilty when I say 'yes' because it will mean more time away from home.

* A person says they saw me look at them, but I did not speak to them (when I don't remember seeing them at all).

* I eat in an expensive restaurant, then feel guilty for spending so much money.

* I order two newspapers to come to me, then feel guilty that neither gets read.

* I buy an expensive jacket at a reduced price and then feel guilty that I don't like it after I have worn it.

In other words, a feeling of guilt need not have sin at the core at all. We may regret bad jugdement, poor management of our time and money, not choosing the best holiday plan, not going to the doctor soon enough, not being present when someone needed us, not making a wise investment or even missing a plane or train when it was due to being held up by a traffic accident. We need a special grace utterly to forget such happenings.

Extracted from 'Totally Forgiving Ourselves" by R T Kendall