Religious Shame

Shame: painful feeling arising from the circumstances of something dishonorable or improper.

A large number of believers left religion due to religious shame.  I know that I had turned from a relationship with God for a significant number of years due to religious shame.

I learned to judge myself harshly due to my understanding of what I thought was expected of me as correct and proper.  I pushed my perception of the thoughts of others onto myself.  I would quickly provide grace to others while persecuting myself mentally.

If I would have understood earlier that Jesus loved me despite myself and my sins, I would have likely found peace much earlier and released years of religious shame.

How about you?

But if we confess our sins to God, He can always be trusted to forgive us and take our sins away. I John 1:9