Overcoming Shame: A 9-Day Video SeriesUzorak

Justice is the process of judging which punishment is appropriate for each crime. Lesser crimes get lesser punishment—that’s how all civilized societies work.

Mercy is releasing someone from punishment even though that person deserves it.

When James says, “mercy triumphs over judgment” (James 2:13), he is telling us that the system of judgment that Jesus brought to us is the only one that can truly give us freedom, because his is based on grace.

Mercy applies to your relationship with others, but it can also apply to your relationship with yourself. You have done things that you are not proud of, and at times you have even been angry at yourself for having done those things. If you responded with guilt, you may have taken action to make amends for the things you did. But if your response was shame, you may be dragging a list of things around with you that have now turned into evidence that you use to convict yourself of past crimes.

If you are holding yourself hostage for past bad behavior, then you are probably not just feeling guilty; you are struggling with shame.

People who can’t let go of the past are not upset because they did bad things; they are upset because they use those things as evidence to prove they are bad people. If you are one of those people, you are at war with yourself, and that is a battle you cannot win.