Open Confession

confession - Open Confession

He who covers his sins will not prosper, but whoever confesses and forsakes them will have mercy. Proverbs 28:13

“Robin, you are so weird!” I (Teresa) heard my son tell his sister.

“Eric, please come here,” I said. “You are not to talk to your sister like that again. Do you understand?”

“But, Mom,” he replied, “you don’t always talk nice to Daddy.”

Ouch! That really hurt. God had brought out into the open that which I thought I’d hidden from my children. I realized I had been sending Eric mixed messages, saying one thing with my words and teaching another with my behavior. I could see now which one he had adopted.

I hadn’t realized the impact of some unkind things I had said to David. Through my son, God showed me how hurtful I’d been to my husband. I knew it was time for me to confess and ask for my husband’s forgiveness. I went to David and said, “Honey, I’m sorry for treating you so unkindly.” He hugged me and gladly offered his forgiveness.

David and I then talked with the kids about what had happened. We wanted them to understand that it wasn’t enough to know you had done something wrong. We tried to help them see that true sorrow for doing wrong means openly confessing the wrong done.

Covering our sin is an all-too-human response when we are confronted with it. However, God’s commitment is to truth, which sets us free to love. It’s His commitment to us and to our freedom that prompts Him to expose our sin. He will go to whatever lengths are necessary to prompt confession and change.

What sins—in word, in deed, in attitude—have you been hiding that need to be confessed and forsaken today?