Ever gone on a guilt run?

Not familiar with the term?

Basically a guilt run is something you do after you’ve been eating things you shouldn’t (fatty foods, sugary desserts, or simply too much food) in an effort to magically counteract their effect on your body.

So yeah, I’ve been on a few.

I recently went on a guilt run after a particularly bad couple days of eating and it felt great.

The sun was shinning my pace was stellar and I could feel the unwanted pounds dropping off me as I ran.

Then it all changed.

At the halfway mark of my run I hit the wall.

My feet felt extra heavy and my energy was virtually gone.

My pace had slowed considerably and my guilt run was now nothing more than a guilt walk.

I suffered through the last bit of my self-imposed punishment and returned home feeling sore, sick, and worse than when I left.

________

Life can be that way too.

Ever tried to punish yourself for something you did wrong?

Ever try to make things right by being extra good and earning back what was lost?

Initially you feel better.

If I punish myself this will make up for my bad behavior.

Guilt motivation is rarely, if ever, the right motivation.

I have found that being compelled by love is a much better motivator.

I do nice things, buy gifts, and spoil my wife because I love her.

Besides, the few times I’ve bought guilt flowers didn’t work anyway.

I play with my kids, go to their games, and take them on vacations because I love them.

Allow me to spiritualize this for a moment.

We don’t need to go on a guilt run to make things right between ourselves and God.

Praying more frequently and louder will not remove the guilt.

Reading your Bible for 12 hours straight won’t do it either.

Picking up and moving to the deepest jungle in order to serve others still won’t cut it (though it would be an impressive story).

Jesus went to cross for us.

He took on our guilt, shame, and sin.

The Bible says, “There is no condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus.” (Romans 8.1, NLT)

The Message says it this way:

With the arrival of Jesus, the Messiah, that fateful dilemma is resolved. Those who enter into Christ’s being-here-for-us no longer have to live under a continuous, low-lying black cloud.

Stop punishing yourself.

No more guilt running.

You think it’s working, but all your left feeling is sore, sick, and worse off than before.