‘Confessed faults are half-mended’ (Scottish proverb)
It was one of those games boys play, and only adults know are dangerous. A thrilling downhill ride on a make shift racing plaything with no brakes, no safety belts, no helmets…Only high speed!
The boy in me played ‘smart’ broke the rules Dad had set through Mom to enjoy the ecstatic experience of what dad called ‘a dangerous ride’. Then one day, it happened. One of the front wheels of my makeshift came off, the wooden front hit the ground bringing my racing improvisation into a sudden halt, leaving me under the mercies of the laws of inertia (Refresh; ‘if an object is moving at a constant speed or velocity, it will continue at that speed unless acted upon by some force along the line of motion’) when the rolling was over, I was left with a knee injury and bruised hands. I wouldn’t tell Mom, and as for Dad…he wasn’t even supposed to know.
By the second day, my knee was getting worse by covering it up. I had changed from a bubbly, sparklingly animated boy to a dull, withdrawn, irritable, scared child, whose unbearably aching knee had changed his walking style. Kudos to loving Mama, she squeezed some information from me when she realized something was terribly wrong…I confessed, got my wound nursed marking the beginning of a healing process… (Of course I went back there a few other times…shhhhhhhh)
In the words of Louis Cassel, ‘In confession…we open our lives to healing, reconciling, restoring, uplifting grace of Him who loves us in spite of who we are’
The more things change, the more they remain the same. So we grow up, learn right from wrong, we are told/know what we should and should not do, but deep inside we struggle with issues that keep overpowering us. Curiosity takes the better part of us and in our trying out and experimenting with new things; we fail, get hurt and frustrated…messed up really good and proper! After that first mistake we do even worse when we choose to lock it in the proverbial ‘cabinet of skeletons’ and push on with life as if nothing happened. Trying to justify ourselves yet fearful that someone would find out we could gaffe that bad. The guilt, shame, pain, bitterness, irritability, withdrawal and all those symptoms that come with a pretentious life consume us from inside like a cancer, draining life from us, leaving us dry and scared…taking in punishment silently!
Intimacy and sharing of life brings relief for the problem of isolation. It acts as a pressure valve. Spreads the weight from your shoulders to those of a caring friend, for indeed two are better than one, if one falls down, his friend can help him up. But pity the man who falls and allows no one to help him up! Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves. ..Share your struggles, fears etc
Therefore, make it your habit to confess your sins to one another and to pray for one another, so that you may be healed (James 5:16). Confession is acknowledging your slip-up(s) to another. Repentance is a complete turn-away from a way of living that is erroneous. While repentance restores one to their former (right) track, it is confession that heals the pain of regret and eases the consequences of our misdeed. So make it a rule, let a trusted friend peep into your deep dark secrets that you are afraid of letting out of the cabinet, and experience the power of confessing our sins one to another! The lord bless you and restore you.
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{ 1 comment… read it below or add one }
Concealing is dangerous in that it lead us to a life of hypocrisy. This can have a far reaching implications like depression, stress, fear etc.
I am not comfortable with confessing my slip-ups with others. I normally write them down and read them aloud to myself. This way it helps me to come to terms with myself and reality.