Never Ashamed

In life we make choices. We make good choices, and we also make bad choices. These choices are decisions that can have an impact on our lives. These choices can drive us to success or to collapse. My father was an exceptionally good all-around athlete in high school. He has held a record for the longest kickoff return in history and had held that record from the early seventies. I would imagine that people would have assumed that if he showed promises like he did in high school as a successful football player or baseball player, he would be in the Major Leagues. He made a choice to join the military and was shipped to Vietnam. I was born in 1974, so his stent in Vietnam was towards the end of the conflict. Could he have gone to college and have competed for a starting role? Could he have made it to the NFL? He was not a part of my early life; in fact, I hear from him more now at 50 years old than I ever did in my life! He has felt ashamed of his choices of not being there, and I have even felt ashamed of many negative choices and decisions that I have made in my life.

Our choices (especially our bad choices) lead us to shame, and if not managed correctly, can lead us to depression. Many people suffer from clinical depression because of the shame that has been made in their lives. Mental illness is not always the result of the choices that we make because there are multiple avenues in which mental illness can enter a person’s life. The African American community has been in the past, notorious for not seeking help for mental illness. We would simply label someone as ‘off’ or ‘crazy’ and just leave them alone, instead of providing counseling. African American people have endured many things in the past: physically, emotionally, and spiritually, yet has learned to adapt and overcome. Yes, survival is one of the characteristics of African Americans, and many will say because of this, we do not need counseling. Let us not fool ourselves no matter what race we are, because there is something wrong with all of us! We all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of GOD, but our way out is by asking GOD for forgiveness! Yes, we are ashamed of our past but let us not be ashamed of who we are, Children of GOD! When we realize that HE created us, then we ought to be able to get over our past shame! Why? “For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Jesus Christ…” (Romans 1:16).