Meanings of Fear & Shame

Hebrew letters started as pictographs where each letter was a picture. Those pictures can give us insight into what Hebrew words mean.

The Hebrew word for shame (or ashamed) is represented by 3 letters picturing family, security, & destruction. Shame is "family security destroyed." Adam was a "son of God," and his shame destroyed the security he had felt with God. "The man and his wife were both naked, but they were not ashamed" (Genesis 2:25). Their family security was not destroyed before the fall with God or each other. Shame also carries the idea of fear. Adam said in Genesis 3:10, "I heard you in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid."

The Hebrew word for fear is represented by 3 letters picturing work, man, & strength. Fear then is "work by man's strength." The first occurrence of fear in the bible has Adam & Eve picking fig leaves to cover their selves. Fear causes you to try to cover yourself by your works whether you need to or not.

These are some deep messages from God in only six letters!

 Each letter can have multiple meanings or synonyms. The positive fear of God would take the same letters & symbolize hand, head, & leader. God's Right Hand, the Head of the Assembly, Our One Leader Christ.

The literal meaning of the Hebrew word translated fear is a "flowing of the gut," which can be applied to "fear" or "awe." Have you ever been so scared or been in the presence of something so amazing that you could feel it in your gut? This "feeling" is the meaning of this word. The bad feeling of fear makes you try to compensate for whatever you are feeling badly about. The good feeling of fear (awe) makes you stand still in awe, to where you can't do anything but focus on Jesus who is God's Right Hand, the Head of the Assembly, & Our One Leader!

The Humble God of Rest

Most Altar Calls:

"You're in danger of hell. Repeat this prayer after me.."

Equivalent to

"The plane is going down. Take this Jesus parachute.."

"Now that you've prayed that prayer here is what God wants you to do/here is how you can get involved in our church/etc."

Equivalent to

"Now that you've got your Jesus parachute go fly the plane & save everyone else.."

Jesus' invitation to mankind was an invitation for Him to give us rest. Most altar calls stop offering you grace before the prayer is even over. "Here's the gift, now God wants you to get to work!" No time for rest. Jesus often told people he healed to not tell others what he had done. We need time to soak in the cure, to rest & be loved by Him, to learn His love for us by experiencing it. Scripture never calls us "God's missionaries" it calls us "God's children." Children aren't forced to work 3 seconds after they are born, likewise God's children as they are reborn are not commissioned by God to work but invited by Him to rest.

Jesus also described himself as "gentle & humble." For many God is rarely seen as gentle. Someone who needs to forgive all the time because he is perpetually offended & angry is not gentle. Even rarer & in opposition to all religion is a God who is humble. God is pictured as doing everything "for His own glory" & we are supposed to do likewise. Jesus who perfectly represents Our Father is humble, humble in His heart. God's mindset is not works based, sin based, or ego based. Yet He has been taught to be all of those things to the uttermost where almost all He thinks about is people's works & sins & how much he should be praised.

So if we view God as ungentle & unhumble we will not be able to rest. How could anyone rest thinking there is a harsh conceited egomaniac "lording" over them 24/7? If you are put off by me opposing the idea that the purpose of everything is to bring God glory consider that "Love is not self-seeking" & "God is love."

Here are some things you cannot rest with:

Shame

Guilt

The need to be repeatedly forgiven

The call to constantly work or grow or improve or act "right"

The idea that sin has any power over you

The pressure to "get out of your comfort zone"

The command to be holy or perfect

The pressure or responsibility to change or save or evangelize the world

The idea that you have to constantly gain your Father's approval