I love Erma Bombeck's take on guilt; she called it "the gift that keeps on giving". Experts identify two kinds of guilt: healthy (existential ) guilt and unhealthy guilt. Healthy guilt moves us to make positive changes in our behavior. For example I may feel guilty about what my consumption of gas is doing to the planet so I am moved to drive a more fuel efficient car and drive less. Unhealthy guilt is used to manipulate me to do what another person wants whether it would be good for either of us or not. So a person may try to make me feel like a "bad" pastor if I do not visit them or do something they want. One thing I note about Jesus is that he acted out of compassion and not guilt. This allowed him to do what was truly good for people whether or not they thought it was. How frustrating it must have been to people to find a person who they could not manipulate; but how much better did he make their world! A friend of mine talks about how he no longer "receives guilt" from people. They often get angry; but they often get healthier too! Today would be a good day to stop the gift of guilt from giving to us.
DMac
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