Confessing and admitting our wrongs can be an embarrassing and painful process. On the other hand, keeping our wrong secrets can be even more painful. Perhaps this conundrum is what causes people to confess using anonymous social-media apps. One of the first apps created for this purpose is called Whisper, where users post anonymous confessions. Confessions on Whisper range from funny, embarrassing stories to heavier situations such as severe depression and substance abuse. There are also websites like Reddit and 4chan which were not originally created as confessionals but are being used in that way. Clearly, people are longing to find a space where they can confess and connect as humans.

Make it a prayer practice

Confessing our sin is an essential practice in Christianity. Catholics consider confession a sacrament of the faith. The Pope encourages Catholics to confess to a priest at least once a year. Protestants don’t confess to a priest, but confession should be part of our regular prayer practice. There are certain denominations that focus more on confessing sins than others. Regardless of our Christian background, making confession part of our regular prayer practice can help us live as people of integrity who bring honor to God.

How do we confess?

The first step of confession is confessing to God. This step means admitting our sin and asking God to forgive us. We then can take our confession a step further by confessing to people we know and trust. This practice helps us stay accountable and to refrain from committing the wrongful act again. Confessing to others also keeps us humble and aware of areas that tempt us to fall into sin. A third part of our confession is changing our actions. God doesn’t require us to earn forgiveness; we simply ask for it. However, confession should be followed by a change in our actions and a desire to do better in the future.

Question of the day: What is something you did as a child that got you into trouble?
Focal scriptures: 1 John 1:5-10; James 5:15-20; Luke 19:1-10

For a complete lesson on this topic visit LinC.