Our sin is toxic. Our sin is so toxic that it has effects on us, even after the fact. Look to Psalm 32:3a:
- For when I kept silent, my bones wasted away.
Our natural response to sin is to hide it away. Think of how a child hides from their parent when they do something wrong. They are worried of the punishment, aka consequences, for their actions.
I believe that, as adults, we still behave like children. We want to hide away from our sins, because we want to avoid the potential consequences. So, we don’t confess what we’ve done. The problem with that is this… Our hearts can’t take a lack of confession.
The effect of unconfessed sin is that it eats away at us. Our enemy wants us not to confess, because sin grows in the dark. We need to bring it to the light. Otherwise, we’ll get pulled further into the sin. We don’t do well when we try to hide sin.
Proverbs 28:13 – Whoever conceals his transgressions will not prosper, but he who confesses and forsakes them will obtain mercy.
The late Christian physiologist and author, Larry Crabb, made an observation about confession. He believed that modern psychology and counseling were a by-product of the lack of confession in the American evangelical church. I don’t want to diminish the value of counseling. I’ve been through some myself. However, I do want to note something. Secular culture is trying to fill the void that Christianity leaves when not practicing confession. Even the world sees the value in talking about our sins.
We, as Christians, should confess. Our sin is too toxic not to talk about. Part of not walking alone is confessing our sins. First to the Lord, then to a brother or sister in Christ.
I recommend taking some time over this next week to read through the rest of Psalm 32. It’ll help build an understanding of confessing sin to the Lord. I then recommend reading Galatians 6:1-6 to build an understanding of confessing sin to others.
I will say that there is the right place, at the right time, with the right person. But don’t let your sin eat away at you. Rather, share with the Lord and someone who you trust. Sin is too toxic to keep to yourself.
-Pastor Casey
