Rich Dixon is helping us see that words matter.

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Have you ever felt guilty?

I know, it’s a silly question. At some point, we’ve all felt guilty about something.

Different question – have you ever felt shame?

Have you ever thought about the difference?

A couple of weeks ago our pastor, Aaron Hanson, explained his thoughts about the difference:

Guilt says I’ve done something wrong.

Shame says there’s something wrong with me.

I won’t dig into the theology associated with those two concepts. I’ll just admit times in my life I’ve felt guilty, and other times I’ve felt shame.

Shame is, at least for me, deeper and darker and a good deal more persistent.

I’ll leave you to ponder that notion for yourself. My point today is to consider the miracle experienced by the kids at the Home of Hope.

Until I heard Aaron’s statement, I always thought of our kids as feeling guilty. I never considered the notion that they might be ashamed. But it makes perfect sense.

They didn’t do anything wrong, they’re just kids forced into a situation they couldn’t control, so they have nothing to feel guilty about. Those awful feelings must be shame.

I suspect that, deep inside, they’re convinced there’s something fundamentally wrong with them.

I can’t imagine what that’s like for a child, to learn from an early age that you’re simply broken. Not as good as others. Not worthy of the love and warmth and connection every child craves. But it must be the most empty feeling imaginable.

When we say The FREEDOM TOUR cycles to bring hope and freedom to kids rescued from human trafficking, it’s more than a tagline. The dollars donated by our generous community allow these precious children to live and laugh and love and grow in a place that slowly, over time, replaces shame with hope.

People don’t do that.

Jesus does that.