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| in God's loving care (Photo credit: Leonard John Matthews) |
What do you do when no one is looking? Imagine if everyone in a church was made to stand up and tell their darkest secrets. Hi, I'm having an affair. Hello, I have a cocaine habit, but you're not supposed to know that. Hi, I watch porn videos at night while my wife is sleeping. Hi, don't tell me anything because I will just turn around and tell your secret. I smoke weed, I'm an alcoholic, I have a gambling problem, I'm embezzling money, I have a habit of shoplifting; this would continue on and on. What about the child molesters, wife-beaters, and rapists? How many racist people would stand up? Would there be a murderer in the congregation?
I don't know what you do when you're alone, but I can tell you that I'm not always happy with myself in that same situation. While this church confession is very unlikely to happen, it is important to remember that we're not fooling anyone. "The eyes of the Lord are in every place, beholding the evil and the good." Proverbs 15:3 "God is always watching" is a phrase we often hear, but contemplate for a moment the truth behind those words. God really does see those dark secrets that we think are hidden away. That church confession that would likely produce heart attacks for a few members of any congregation, wouldn't be news to the Lord.
It's perplexing how quick to judge we are at times when we've tilled the same ground time and time again. Despite God having seen more than we could ever imagine, his unconditional love is still ready for everyone. "For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him." John 3:17 I think what I want to work on doing is to look at what is wrong with my own self instead of finding ways to point fingers at others. I believe the more we do this, the more we are able to discern the difference between judging others and correcting others actions in love.
If we remember that the eyes of the Lord are in every place, then that should help us keep our self-righteousness in check. It can be rather tempting to say that we aren't the murderers, the adulterers, the drug users, the child molesters, or the alcoholics, to name a few. For that, I have two things to say. What sins are we not guilty of committing in our hearts? Also, who are we to judge the weight of different sins? Now we have to go back to the church confession. Each one of us knows our own heart, and we know what we are guilty of doing. God sees everything, and instead of judging others, he wants us to love others. "Above all, keep loving one another earnestly, since love covers a multitude of sins." 1 Peter 4:8
looking inside and seeing it for what it is is always the hardest
ReplyDeleteDefinitely! And it sure is humbling, and if done right helps you love others so much more.
DeleteGreat article. We all need to do the self inspection on a regular basis, then we wouldn't have time to be so self-righteous and judgmental. ML
ReplyDeleteThanks! Well said too, I agree. Don't even give ourselves the time.
DeleteExcellent post. I'd like to add the catholic perspective on confession and reconsiliation because it seems to relate to your topic. Before I start this isnt meant as a criticism of anyone else or anything else but to show how the catholic church help people deal with such issues their, ight be someone that finds it interesting if not just pass it by. Jesus understood how much easier it was to see fault in others. This was His point when dealing with the woman caught in adultry. This is also why the bible says we need to confess our sins to one another and not just to God because we arent always honest about oursleve or in how we percieve ourselves. This is human nature we need this ability to a degree so that we are consumed with guilt or driven to inaction as a result of all the consequences that can occur. But sometimes with fallen human natures this God given survival mechanism feeds out insecurities and allows us to block out too much. And Jesse I have actually been in noncatholic churches where they routinely did confess openly their deepest darkest sins to the congregation. The catholic church chooses not to do this because the bible only says the power to bind and forgive sins was given to the apostles we dont believe this transfered to every individual at penecost. We do believe God forgives sin directly, but to be a practicing catholic (which i should explain I am not, but trying to work out my issues and get back to it) it is a requirement to seek the sacrement of reconciliation at least once a year, the more frequent the better. Another reason we do not confess openly to the congregation or to just anyone is because revealing your sins and weaknesses to others can damage their spiritual journey as well. First it tempts them to judge you and have uncharitable thoughts toward you. Its very difficult to unhear something youve heard. Secondly it tempts them to tell others and inevitably things get blown out of proportion until someone crosses the line of rumors gossips and false witness. Third it puts them on the spot and they may not have the spirtual strength, training and know how to give you the help you need. Finally knowing your sins may even weaken their own resolve against sin, it gives them the mental excuse "well so and so did it why cant i" and we all have a child in us that tells us these kinds of things.
ReplyDeleteA priest has to have about 8 years or more education including counciling. He also take a vow to never repeat what is heard in confession and as catholics we believe the Holy Spirit Himself grants special graces to ensure this.
The purpose of confession isnt to get a priest to forgive your sins. All forgiveness comes from God the priest just acts as a sort of telephone line. Most of us have specific sins that give us the most trouble so the priest with training in counseling can help develop a plan of action to help build your resolve against sin. Another thing almost contradictory (and humans are the embodiment of contradiction) is that when we do recognize sin we often beat ourselves up and have a harder time forgiving ourselves than God does. The priest serves as physical comfort and reminder that God is infinitly merciful and no sin is too big for Him to forgive if we are sincere in our desire to change. The priest also may have incite into us personally and may be able to point out faults and view points we hadnt considered.
We always need to try and main charitibility and benifit of the doubt when we see others. We dont know what they are going through or how much strength they are using to get just where they are. And all of us have grave thoughts and sins that we overlook or justify internally.
I love the quote a saint is a sinner that keeps getting up. No matter how far we fall we can God can lift us back up if we let Him!
Thanks Lacey! I really like the part about no matter how hard we fall, God always picks us up if we let him. Thanks for sharing the Catholic perspective too. I really like what you said about the viewpoint of not necessarily confessing every sin, and I find it interesting that you have been to other churches that have done that.
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