Sermon for HCBC (16 August 2020). To listen use the audio player below or click here. Also available on your favorite podcast app (“Hunting Creek Baptist Church”).
Introduction
The devil devalues humans through the power of shame. The devil desires to devalue humans. I say this because humans are created in the image of God. We are made to reflect and mirror the radiance of God. The devil hates that because he hates the radiance of God. Anything that reflects the glory of God must be smashed and broken. One of the most powerful tools he wields is shame. Shame is the emotional pain of guilt, inadequacy, or worthlessness. Shame does two things. Shame “corrupt[s] our relationship with God and each other” and it fractures our ability to create and cultivate as humans.[1]
God created humans in his image so that they might flourish and display his goodness in all creation. Listen to how Psalm 8 speaks about humans: “You have made humankind a little lower than the heavenly beings and crowned them with glory and honor. You have given them dominion over the works of your hands.” But in our broken world, shame begins astonishingly early, and we experience the devil’s devaluing plan.
Shame and the Garden
I want to return to Genesis 3 this week, back to the same story that we looked at last week. Last week, we saw how the devil uses lies and deception to question God’s character. This week, I want us to see how the devil wields the power of shame to devalue humans.
Let’s begin in v. 1 again. “Now the serpent was more crafty than any other beast of the field that the LORD God had made.” This word crafty has a negative sense here. It is cunning and manipulative. Notice what he does. First, he speaks to the woman. It’s unclear whether Adam is present in this moment or only after the fact, but the serpent is crafty. He isolates Eve by speaking only to her.
The serpent also introduces doubt. Listen to the rest of the verse: “He said to the woman, ‘Did God actually say, “You shall not eat of any tree in the garden”?’” Doubt in and of itself is not a bad thing, but this is doubt about the fundamentals of living. And this doubt is to be wrestled with alone, which drives Eve away from God.
Of course, we know Eve’s answer. Then, the crafty serpent makes another move. He devalues the image of God that stamps humans. Verses 4–5: “But the serpent said to the woman, ‘You will not surely die. For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.’” Remember Adam and Eve are created in the image of God, in the likeness of God. By implication, the serpent has introduced an inadequacy. He has said to Eve, “You are not enough,” “You are less valuable,” “You are missing something.” And he has introduced further relational doubt. “God does not want you to be like him. He doesn’t want you close to him.” These are the fundamentals of shame. So what does Eve do?
Verse 6: “So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate.” Her shame, her feelings of inadequacy, her self-doubt, the rupture in her relationship with God, her isolation, drives her to look for comfort, to satisfy her hunger for connection and value. Psychiatrist Curt Thompson says this, “[A]ll sin, all idolatry, all coping strategies in which I indulge are ways for me to satiate my hunger for relationship, my longing to be known and loved, my desire to be desired.”[2] The addict is soothing pain, discomfort, feelings of worthlessness through her drug of choice. The emotionally distant parent is protecting his heart from further hurt. The angry church member is trying to stabilize a chaotic world through control. Do you see the pattern? Eve sees the fruit, and she sees a remedy for her isolation, for her feelings of inadequacy. Our feelings of discomfort, worthlessness, and guilt drive us to look for comfort in the wrong places.
Treating shame in this way is like trying to treat an illness by drinking battery acid. It will only introduce an array of new problems, yielding further isolation and corrosion. This is the power of shame, and it only serves to further devalue humans. Rather than flourishing in relationship with God and others, we become more focused on ourselves. Rather than cultivating as bearers of God’s image, we are destabilized and turn destructive.
Look at the effects. Verse 7: “Then the eyes of both were opened, and they knew that they were naked. And they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves loincloths.” In order to feel the full weight of this verse, we have to go back to the end of chapter 2. Verse 25: “And the man and his wife were both naked and were not ashamed.” Prior to the devil’s injection of doubt, Adam and Eve were naked and were not ashamed. Now we are told their eyes were opened, and they knew they were naked. What do they do? They attempt to cover their shame. They sewed fig leaves together and made themselves loincloths. They are no longer comfortable as human beings. They are suddenly aware of their nakedness and vulnerability. They are conscious of the way they look. They feel inadequate. See how they are fractured? The wholeness of being made in God’s image has splintered. The beauty of God’s good creation has been distorted.
And shame also drives us away from God. Verse 8: “And they heard the sound of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God among the trees of the garden.” They are hiding from God. Then v. 10: “And Adam said, ‘I heard the sound of you in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked, and I hid myself.’” They are afraid because they are naked. Here are human beings created in God’s image who are now fixated on their inadequacy, and it ruptures the relationship with God. They are afraid of him. And they hide.
Shame also drives us away from each other. God made humankind for relationship. The devil devalues humans by driving us apart. When God asks if they ate from the tree, Adam says in v. 12: “The woman whom you gave to be with me, she gave me fruit of the tree, and I ate.” Once again, here is a subtle indication that Adam has begun to doubt God’s goodness. Why did you give her to me? And Adam has also removed himself from Eve by blaming her. This will result in an ongoing tension. When God speaks judgment in v. 16, listen to what he says will happen, “To the woman he said, ‘I will surely multiply your pain in childbearing; in pain you shall bring forth children. Your desire shall be contrary to your husband, but he shall rule over you.’” Every human relationship will begin in pain. And the marital relationship will be one of tension and conflict.
Do you see how the devil has devalued humans through the use of shame? Our tendency to isolate from God and from others, our feelings of worthlessness and inadequacy, are part of the game plan. They are introduced to us as small children when our mom says, “Can’t you ever do anything right?” or our dad says, “You’re not doing good enough, just let me do it.” They can be introduced non-verbally when a parent rolls their eyes or sighs or is physically abusive. Our social interactions continue this process. In school, friendships are formed and disintegrated. Jokes are made at the expense of others. People are shunned and ostracized. And as adults, it is no wonder that we have deep scars that produce further isolation and fragmentation.
Disrupting Shame
But God created humans in his image. He desires to heal our shame. After the devil’s devaluing campaign, God makes a number of decisive moves toward humans. And this is really the remarkable news of the gospel. Shame tells us that God is leaving us or abandoning us, but what we see time and time again in the pages of Scripture is a God who moves toward us, who seeks us. Listen to Gen 3:21: “And the LORD God made for Adam and for his wife garments of skins and clothed them.” Isn’t it beautiful? God covers their shame. He provides clothing for them. But this is only a shadow of his real healing work.
Hebrews 12:2 urges us to look to Christ, “the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.” To be hung a cross is shameful. To die a criminal’s death is shameful. And the holy God incarnate did this for us so that we might be redeemed sons and daughters of the sovereign God. This is the broader point in Hebrews 12. Through Christ, we are brought near the holy God. We no longer need to be afraid of our inadequacies or guilt. Instead, we can enter into God’s presence through the perfect priesthood of Christ who took our shame. Paul puts it this way in Gal 3:13: “Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us.” We do not need to be ashamed before God. Christ’s death is a perfect atonement for all our feelings of inadequacy.
Now Satan’s tactic is to remind us of our guilt and inadequacy. Revelation 12:10 calls him the accuser of the brothers and sisters. That critic in your head is not the voice of God. Satan will remind you often of your failures and guilt. But Christ invites you to see what he has done for you. Romans 8:1: “There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.” Practically speaking, this means when you fail, you do not need to atone for your sins. God is not waiting for you to learn your lesson before he welcomes you back. Christ is the only atonement and God is the Father waiting and watching for your return. When he sees you and will run to you and get you a new garment and cover your shame.
One further way God desires to disrupt our shame is by inviting us into a community. James 5:16 says, “Confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed.” The last thing shame wants is to be brought to the light. It wants to hide. But the remedy is to bring it forward. The remedy is to talk about it with others. The remedy is to move toward others. That’s why James says, “Confess your sins to one another.” There is healing in this. When we sit with others and talk about the places in us that we would rather hide, healing can happen, shame can be disrupted. We can do this in gospel community. Yes, we are sinners, but we are beloved sinners. And we are also saints. That is a safe space to step out of the bushes. God has moved toward us, and now we are able to move toward each other with compassion and grace.
The devil devalues humans through the power of shame. He wants us to isolate ourselves from God and others. He wants us to hide and fear being vulnerable with others. This isolation and hiding keeps us from flourishing. But God wants us to flourish as image bearers. He wants us to experience full lives of loving him and loving others. He wants us to use our gifts within his creation. And so he covers our shame and he stamps us with value through the work of Christ.
For a discussion guide click here.
[1] Curt Thompson, The Soul of Shame
[2] The Soul of Shame