Confession

             Therefore, confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another so that you may be healed. A prayer of a righteous person, when it is brought about, can accomplish much. (James 5:16)

 

            Confession? Like to a priest? Like a Maury Povich show? In front of the whole world? The answer to all these questions is “yes…no…not exactly…maybe…it depends…” First, as I think I’ve noted recently, confession has to do with stating your agreement with someone else that something is so. It doesn’t only have to do with sins, but that is the most frequent use.

            Scripture teaches that we are to confess to those we’ve wrong (Matthew 5:23), even if we don’t think we’ve done something wrong but they do. In this case, confession is about getting our relationships with others back on the right track. And if the someone we’ve wronged is God, then confession is still about getting our relationship back on course.

            But confession is more than just saying, “I agree that ____ is wrong.” It’s tied to repentance, which involves turning away from that blank and toward God or the other person. This is different from the idea of penitence, in which one has to say some number of prayers or do community service. Those things might be helpful, but confession and repentance are more integral.

            The one to whom we repent is first, to God, and then to others who are involved in the situation. It’s not a Maury Povich program as a general rule, though there are times when for one reason or another it needs to be. If you harmed the whole world, the whole world needs to hear your confession. If you harmed your church body, they need your confession and you need their forgiveness. The key here is to follow the Spirit's leading.

            There’s something more with confession. One of the reasons that it’s good for the soul is that it takes away some of the power of the temptation. When you can say “I’m fat” or “I’m a glutton,” you no longer have to put energy into pretending it’s not there. That gives you that little bit more energy to put into fighting the temptations your face.

            As the verse above also notes, as we confess and pray for one another about weakness, temptation, sin, etc., and as we are being held accountable by those to whom we confess, we will find healing. We also provide others with an example that may help them overcome their failings.