This is the first of a series of blogs from Ed Welch about shame. The occasion is the publication of Shame Interrupted: How God Lifts the Pain of Worthlessness and Rejection (New Growth Press). ***

“For every complex problem there is an answer that is clear, simple, and wrong.” This is a quote by H. L. Mencken. A black-or-white thinker would reject it. A see-different-perspectives, could-be-this-could-be-that thinker (this contrasting group doesn’t a particular name[1]) would appreciate it, but might add, “and sometimes a complex problem can also have an answer that is clear, simple and right.”

Who is the Lord? Our answer to this question shapes everything we say in counseling. He is the Judge, Scorned One, Law-Giver, Law-Keeper, King, Servant, Holy One, Lamb, Lion, Alpha and Omega, One–who-Hears, along with scores of other revealed names and character qualities. Your Favorite Name will Impact Your Counseling Emphasize any of these and watch how your tone and language change. When you are meditating on God-as-Judge you will sound different from when your tone is controlled by The-One-Who-Washes-Feet.

He is forty-two-years-old and his physician suggested that Ritilan or one of its relatives might be helpful. So he tried it, and it was helpful. “There hasn’t been anything magical about it, but I noticed a difference almost right away. My brain just felt clearer and more orderly. My wife has noticed the difference too.” My first response was simple. “That’s great.” My second response was, “please, tell me more.” He is a biblically thoughtful and insightful man, and I was eager to learn from him.