One of my favorite bands is Mumford & Sons. Their lyrics are phenomenal. Earlier today as I was enjoying me some Mumford & Sons this lyric started rattling around my brain and filling it with a healthy dose of pain.
The lyric is from their song Winter Winds:
Oh the shame that sent me off from the God that I once loved
Was the same that sent me into your arms
Oh and pestilence is won when you are lost and I am gone
And no hope, no hope will overcome
I will not pretend to know the specific interpretation of this song. For all I know Mr. Mumford and his kids could have been talking about the pain of switching from Kellog’s Corn Flakes to the generic brand. Art is funny that way. Yet, I do believe that this lyric spotlights something I have witnessed numerous times. Namely, that shame drives people away from the Lord into the waiting arms of shameful lovers.
When we sin feelings of guilt and shame come with it. And though it’s not politically correct to admit this, we ought to feel guilt and shame when we exchange life for death. Guilt and a sense of shame always comes with forsaking the Creator. It’s as natural as a trip to a Chinese restaurant being followed by a date with Charmin.
Our Shameful Response to Shame
Yet what we tend to do with our shame is similar to what Mumford suggests in this lyric: rather than running to God shame makes us run away from Him into the arms of another. I have witnessed this countless times in the lives of those I’m discipling and even in my own heart. There is something about shame and guilt that makes us think that unless these abominable qualities are alleviated then the Holy One will never accept us.
Oddly enough this way of thinking is partially true. Without atonement your shame becomes you. That is what you do when you sin. You exchange glory for shame. And unless you are cleansed then it becomes your identity.
As a result of this we run. We hide. We mask. We deafen. We pursue comfort in the accepting and approving arms of others, who like us bear the mark of shame. The same shame that makes us run from God leads us into the arms of another.
Yet it never satisfies. The fellow shamed cannot heal your shame. And so the shame, guilt, and emptiness begins to pile up. “No hope will overcome…”
Or so it seems.
Jesus Christ has bore our shame. He was shamed so that we wouldn’t have to be. He bore the curse and endured the guilt and shame that should have been ours. He was crucified in shame outside the city so that we could dance in freedom and joy inside the walls of glory.
The gospel invites us to come empty. Shameful. Naked. Despised. Broken. Abused. Foolish. Drunken. Forsaken. Guilty.
And in Christ we find fullness. Freedom. Covering. Honor. Glory. Healing. Life. Wholeness. Joy. Love. Grace. Peace. Holiness. Cleanliness. Forgiveness. Hope.
When you find yourself covered in shame don’t run. Don’t mask it. Don’t pretend it isn’t there. Don’t try to find release or freedom or healing at any other fountain. Turn to Christ and hope.
And this hope will not disappoint. Yes, this hope can overcome…
