Confession is Good for More than the Soul

 In my Psalm prayers today, 32:3-5 really stood out to me.

While I kept silence, my body wasted away through my groaning all day long. For day and night your hand was heavy upon me; my strength was dried up as by the heat of summer. Then I acknowledged my sin to you, and I did not hide my iniquity; I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the Lord,” and you forgave the guilt of my sin.

As I reflected on this, I thought about 1 John 1:8-10.

If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he who is faithful and just will forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.

Bringing these two paragraphs alongside each other got me thinking about the benefits of confessing, acknowledging, owning up to our sins, faults, mistakes.

Psalm 32 casts it in terms of inner peace, which may be the most compelling incentive for confession. However, we all know people who seem to have no apparent internal conscience or moral compass. When we are honest with God and ourselves, we know we have faults below the threshold of awareness, so we pray Psalm 19:12, Who can detect their errors? Clear me from hidden faults."

While relentless self deprecation is not healthy, as David prayed in Psalm 51:12 "Restore to me the joy of your salvation." Being open about our shortcomings opens us to learning and growth and signals that strength to others. Confession is essential to being recognized as worthy of trust in relationships and public life. By way of contrast, those who refuse confession and correction let others know not to trust them.