“No Shame Allowed”

1 Corinthians 4: 14: “I do not write these things to shame you, but to admonish you as my beloved children.” In the midst of this year’s purification and the intensified self-examination that is a part of Lent, we must never forget the difference between shame and admonition. Yes, the Holy Spirit will point out to us our faults, failures, and weaknesses, as St. Paul did to the Corinthians in this chapter. But he is not finger pointing and casting shame, for these are things the Lord commands us to do away with (Zephaniah 3: 19; Isaiah 58: 9b). Admonition, on the other hand, done with love as of a father, is a valid tool in shepherding the flock of God (2 Timothy 2: 25, 26; Titus 2: 6, 9).