You Are No Mistake

[Adam] answered, “I heard you in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid.”

Genesis 3:10

Just because you’ve made a mistake doesn’t mean you are a mistake. What freeing words. Guilt and shame researcher Brené Brown described shame as “the intensely painful feeling or experience of believing we are flawed and therefore unworthy of acceptance and belonging.”^a God never wanted that for us. We can learn more from Brown’s definition of shame versus guilt:

Guilt says: “You’ve done something bad” or “You’ve made a bad choice.”

Shame says: “You are bad.”

There is a big difference between “You made a mistake” and “You are a mistake.”^b

I put it this way: Guilt is about my do. Shame is about my who.

In today’s verse, Adam admitted to shame, not guilt. What if Adam and Eve had confessed what they did (guilt), instead of trying to hide who they were (shame)? They would have still faced consequences, but with honesty, acceptance, and forward motion instead of blame and finger-pointing.

Today, you can come to God without shame for any mistakes you’ve made. He loves you and wants to purify you—because you are no mistake (1 John 1:9).

Lord, when I need to, please help me come out of that hiding place, knowing that You forgive my mistakes and make me whole.