Guilt, the Enemy of Correction
2021 Gathering, Part Forty
JJ: It’s interesting that the word sin comes from a Greek word (HAMARTANO) that means to miss the mark. So when the ancient Greeks shot an arrow at a target and they missed it, they were said to have sinned.
Now, let’s suppose that the ancient Greeks shooting at a target had the same attitude of a sinner in a religion. Okay. He shoots an arrow at the target, and he misses, and he says, “Oh, man, that’s so terrible. I’m a really bad person for missing that. I don’t deserve to even shoot again. I’m going to wait. I’ll take a month off and do penance before I even take another shot.”
And this is the way it is when there’s guilt involved and when there’s guilt involved, we do not feel worthy of taking another shot, or doing anything. We just feel like standing still and feeling bad about it.
Let’s suppose that we commit some offense, we commit some error, and we go by the original word for sin, which means to miss the mark. If we make a mistake, then the attitude is like the archer. When the archer misses the bull’s eye, he just says, “Oh, I missed, I’ll try again.” And he shoots until he hits the bull’s eye. And this is the way we need to handle guilt. Only take correction from your inner self and realize when you make a mistake, it’s just a mistake. You correct the mistake, and you move ahead without any guilt at all.
Curtis: I like what Shakespeare says. He says, “nothing is either right or wrong, but thinking makes it so.”
JJ: Exactly. Yeah. I haven’t felt guilt for many years, and it’s really a great release to not feel guilty about anything. Now, some people will say, “well, the scripture says, ‘the wicked will have their conscience seared with a hot iron,’” you know?
Well, a conscience is different than that. A conscience merely tells you what’s right and wrong. Your conscience doesn’t make you feel guilty. But what makes you feel guilty is a voice that’s substituting for God. And that’s the beast. The beast that we talked about earlier. The beast is a substitute for God and everyone who allows a substitution for God to make them feel guilty has the mark of the beast.
Think of your lives. If you feel guilty about anything, you’re suffering from the mark of the beast to a degree. You got to eliminate that mark and eliminate those authorities. I’ve talked to a number of people who have left the church, but even though they’ve left the church, they haven’t left it in their mind. They still allow the authorities in the church to make them feel guilty.
I mean, if you’re going to leave the authorities behind, leave them behind completely so they have no power to make you feel guilty. Now, those of you who are still in a church, fine, but don’t allow anyone to speak with the voice of God to the point that they can make you feel guilty. Lean entirely on the voice of God that speaks to you from within, and you will no longer have any guilt about anything.
It’s a tremendous freedom, and it opens the door to greater soul contact. Okay. Any comment on that? Everybody ready to proceed with no guilt in their lives?
Asaph: Sure. (laughter)
Rebecca: Maybe what I’m feeling isn’t guilt, but I feel guilt over, like, everything. So, like, I feed the chickens and I feel guilty. You know, I don’t get enough schooling for the kids, and I feel guilty. I forget to clean off the bathroom sink, and I feel guilty. I don’t know. I guess I just.
JJ: Well is it really guilty, or do you just feel you need to make a correction.
Rebecca: Maybe it’s that.
JJ: There’s a difference.
Rebecca: What is the difference?
JJ: Yeah, I have things happen in my life. I screw up and I think, boy, silly me, why did I do that?
But I don’t feel guilty about it. I feel like it was kind of a silly mistake. Just like you shoot an arrow at a target, or like Curtis out shooting his guns and we missed it big time. You think, Boy, how did I miss that much? You know? Well, that’s not that’s not guilt, that’s just analyzing the situation. Guilt will make you feel unworthy of an immediate correction.
Rebecca: Well and if I keep doing it over and over and over, well, then I really feel guilty, Right? Well, why don’t I change that? But you’re saying that’s different.
JJ: If you do feel guilty . . . the only thing that can make you feel guilt is if there’s some voice that substituted for God that you have accepted.
Rebecca: You’re saying guilt is specifically that.
And it’s only that.
JJ: Yeah. Right.
Rebecca: And I’m confusing the two.
JJ: If you feel any guilt, you got to ask yourself, “where is the voice I’m listening to that is substituting for God?”
Rebecca: I don’t think I feel that kind of guilt anymore.
JJ: Well good.
If that voice does not exist, then you do not feel real guilt.
Rebecca: I did when I was a kid, but I don’t anymore.
JJ: Now guilt could still be associated with the parents. You know, your parents are a very powerful force in your life. And there are a lot of children in their forties and fifties, that they’re still trying to please their parents. “Boy, I wish I could just make my parents happy over one thing.”
They still have a very strong connection with the authoritative voice of their parents. And sometimes that’s really difficult to let go.
Asaph: I do feel sorry. I do feel sorry for hurting others’ feelings. Even after forgiveness. Yeah. I still feel sorry. I’m not sure it’s guilt.
JJ: Well, yeah. I feel sorry if I hurt somebody’s feelings too. But I don’t feel guilty over it because guilt is more of a self-condemnation. Guilt makes you feel like you need to just stand still and are unworthy to continue. Remember the correspondent to shooting arrows at a target. Do you condemn yourself for missing the Bulls Eye. No you just analyze what you did wrong and shoot again. This will be the attitude of one who has transcended guilt and released himself from the outer authorities that caused it.
This is a really important key in allowing the disciple to move forward instead of backward.
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