Rescue from performance shame

Unashamed is a very timely book that has convicted and comforted me. Lord willing, I will post a review at Out of the Ordinary tomorrow. In the meantime, perhaps you can relate to the following quote. I can.

"Performance shame comes from trying to perform for the wrong audience - those around us. It comes from the lie that our work, success, and accomplishments are what we need to feel good about ourselves. Performance shame makes us think that our worth is tied to our performance, and when we are plagued by performance shame, everything becomes a performance. Underneath we are asking the questions, Am I loved? Have I done enough to belong? Do I have value apart from my contributions and work? ...

The things we do to try to cover up our shame bring us more shame than before... Or we feel exposed that we have not been good enough to outweigh our sins before God. We increase our involvement at church or in our community showing up at every service project, and begin to look down on all of those who seem less committed than we are. Now we have added self-righteousness to  our sins, with the additional danger of feeling better about ourselves because of our religious performance while we are further away from true devotion to God. We desperately need to be rescued.

Rescue comes only through Jesus."

Unashamed: Healing Our Brokenness and Finding Freedom from Shame, Heather Davis Nelson, Crossway 2016, pp.89, 92-93.