Seeing Shame Mentioned Again in Songs

It is interesting to observe how much the concepts of honour and shame are edging back in to Christian 'hymnody'…or words of Christian songs.

As you will know if you are a regular reader of this blog, I have over the years, been highlighting old hymns that freely mentioned the biblical and salvation contexts of honour and shame. Part of the purpose of that is to also highlight how most of our songs and theology of the last century in particular has obscured or ignored these contexts.

Yet there are more and more times in this 21st century where I am noticing songwriters including the concepts, particularly in relation to shame. I want to highlight just three of those songs and what we can learn for how the concept of shame is included:

1. The first is a Getty song called:

'I set my hope on Jesus' 

which includes the words':

Though I falter in this war with sin

I set my hope on Jesus

When I fail the fight and sink within

I set my hope on Jesus

Though the shame would drown me in its sea

And I dread the waves of justice

I will cast my life on Calvary

I set my hope on Jesus

This song was particularly written for those who are facing doubts and 'deconstruction' issues in their faith.  But it's relevant to us all. Issues of shame can have very deep roots which function differently from the concept of 'guilt' that needs to be 'forgiven'. We can think that 'forgiveness' answers all issues of sin. Yet Scripture doesn't say that. Scripture actually differentiates between 'trespasses' or 'trangressions' that need forgiveness, and 'sin' that needs 'covering' (Romans 4:7).

Sin means to 'miss the mark', to not measure up, to fail to reach or attain acceptance or approval or value or worth. Often issues of shame in earthly relationship contexts feel untouched by a concept of forgiveness, and so stay deep and unaddressed. Sadly what often flows on from that is a feeling or understanding that shame is not something that the Cross of Christ deals with. Thus people don't now what to do with it except keep it buried. 

Those issues then can go on to make a person feel that the gospel really doesn't deal with the deepest issues of their lives, and thus the gospel is not all they were promised it would be. How Sad…especially when the Cross not only deals with our shame, but the Cross itself was a place of shame that Jesus took upon himself, not just to enable us to overcome the pain of shame within earthly (horizontal) relationships, but also overcome the reality of shame in our (vertical) relationship with God. 

This song helpfully points people to put their hope on Jesus when they feel overwhelmed by sin's shame, because our salvation doesn't rest on ourselves but on the one who bore even our shame, and grants us the grace of his honour, so that we are 'in Christ' and joint-heirs with Him.

2. There is more than one song of Keith and Kristyn Getty that mentions the issue of shame, (such as 'My worth is not in what I own' in relation to us not deciding our worth on what this world renders as pride or shame value), or  'The King in all His beauty' in relation to Christ's crown of shame as sinners' substitute but which in eternal value is a crown of beauty), but the other I want to mention here is their song for children that mentions shame.

 It's called 

'Jesus Calms the Storm', 

and this is the verse where it is:

When I feel the shame of sin

Like a crashing wave 

My Redeemer rescues me

By His grace I'm saved

This song is not unlike the other above it, but I'm glad they wrote this song for children too. Not only are children not immune from shame, but they are even more vulnerable because they are not yet able to understand the complexities and nuances of life and relationships, but yet they still feel the 'waves' of life in ways they may not be able to express or comprehend. If you are a parent or are involved with ministry to children I would recommend a small booklet called 'Helping Children with Shame' by Biblical Counselor Ed Welch. Let us remember to remind children that Jesus knows about shame, wants us to see and define shame rightly, and that Jesus' death was also to enable an answer and rescue from the worst of shame.

3. Another song I recently came across is this one by CityAlight called:

"Washed by the blood"

Washed by the Blood lyric video youtube.com

It not only mentions the issues of fear and guilt, but also of shame in both the first verse and again in each chorus.

VERSE 1

Once a slave to the fear and the darkness held within O the weight of my sin, my shame By His grace purified, in redeeming sacrifice Living hope that won't spoil or fade CHORUS 1 I am washed by the blood of the Son on the cross I am washed by the blood of the Lamb All my guilt, all my shame were His wounds and His pain I am washed by the blood of the Lamb

Living hope that won't spoil or fade

Often in some other more recent songs mentioning shame, it is mentioned in the context of feelings of shame on a human relationship and personal emotional level. But what is extra encouraging in these songs here, is that shame is in the context of understanding the nature and reality of what sin is, and what the Cross accomplishes in dealing with our sin in terms of shame. The wounds and pain Jesus endured for us were not merely physical (though physically horrific they were), but were immersed in relational shame in his earthly community and before the face of His Father.

Here we have grace being explained in terms of the blood of the Lamb that washes and removes the weight of sin's shame. It also links how our fears are not isolated emotions, but are rooted in the deep 'shame' heart issues.

However, the good news of the gospel is that this 'weight of my sin, my shame' is answered by another weight - the 'eternal weight of glory' (2 Cor 4:17) that we are given in Christ and we will look forward to the full experience of that in heaven where it won't spoil or fade. On God's ultimate 'scales of justice', the 'weight of glory' we are given in Christ, far outweighs any weight of sin's shame we feel. 

We can definitely set our hope on Jesus!