We all have feelings of inadequacy when it comes to living up to our ideals, spiritual or otherwise. A great many pastors and priests advocate guilt as a means to deal with our shortcomings to remind us to become better persons. Guilt is a wrong way to go. JESUS died to pay for our sins. Being guilty and punishing yourself is wrong because JESUS’s sacrifice freed us from justification of self-punishment.
I used to punish myself thinking that I was responsible for caring my own share of my guilt for my mistakes. I believed that adding my burden of guilt to what JESUS had to bare was wrong and I should own up so subconsciously I carried my burden. Because in my judgment I thought my mistakes were wrong and I needed to pay for them.
This I realized was wrong. CHRIST does not carry anyone’s sin or bare their burden. All of this was completed at HIS crucifixion. I thought I was being noble and responsible because of my religious background. I now realize this only makes one more miserable and does nothing to make the world a better place. So I stopped punishing myself for my mistakes than I forgave myself for having made any. It is not my purpose in life to judge myself and thereby judge others but to forgive all and in the doing grow spiritually which is why we are here in the first place.
This can not be stressed too much. All forms of self-punishment and/or self-abuse are void due to HIS Holy sacrifice. In the Bible there are many references to pain and deformity as punishment from GOD. GOD does not punish you! GOD is a good god not a vindictive one. JESUS also refers to The SON of MAN having the authority to forgive sins and hence the ability to heal the sick and infirmed.
JESUS is the First Born son of GOD. The Bible refers to us as children of GOD. We belong to the family of GOD. Adam and Eve ate of The Tree of Good and Evil and became like gods. We have an immortal soul, as in immortal god. How can we have all of this godliness and still be wracked with pain and suffering, because we punish ourselves and each other. JESUS paid for our sins on the cross. You paying for your own sin is an attempt to make HIS sacrifice irreverent. HE did not die so we could go to Heaven; HE died to invalidate our sins so that we could go to Heaven.
In other words you are sinning yet again if you are punishing yourself in any way or another for any sin. HE specifically made a point in saying to forgive others 70 times 7. Why would HE tell us to forgive others and not ourselves? Think, what is sin doing to your life and to life in general? It’s not the act of sin but the lack of forgiveness that is destroys our spirits.
Think about it, if negative energy and self punishment can hurt and damages our bodies than positive energy and forgiveness can heal our bodies. JESUS taught us this yet so few have seen the light. He who has ears let him hear.