Don’t Accept Unearned Guilt
Have you ever had someone perceive you as being guilty? They thought you should have done something which you didn’t do or that you shouldn’t have done something you did do. It is not another person’s perception of our behavior or even our own perception that is the issue. The question is if the Lord says we are guilty. If He doesn’t then it is unearned guilt; it is not something for which God needs to forgive us or clear our slate. It can help us to know the difference by applying the standard of Matthew 18:15 to our behavior – if we have sinned, the accuser is to prove that we have sinned. Since it is God’s perception alone that should matter, it is to God’s way of perceiving things (the Bible illuminated by the Holy Spirit) that we should look.
As Psalm 19:12 (NCV) states, we all have many blind spots about ourselves. These are part of the human condition because we all make many mistakes. We should seek His forgiveness for our shortcomings as they fall short of God’s glory, and we should try to understand and correct them. After all, 1 Peter 1:15 says that we are to seek to be like the Lord in all of our behavior. Yet, these blind spots are not as serious as willful sins.
We need the Lord’s help to not engage in willful sins which are far more serious because they are idolatrous and give Satan a greater foothold of influence in our lives. We must earnestly try to avoid them. We need to evaluate our behavior in light of Matthew 18:15 beforehand.
Comforting others is costly but worth it.