There is no peace or growth in pretending we are perfect. There is no empathy in hearts that cannot put themselves in the shoes of others to understand them. There is no solution and resolution to problems when those who cause them will not admit they did anything wrong.
The more we admit and confess our failings the more mature and holy we become. God will not cleanse those who think they need no cleansing. He will not forgive those who believe they have no need of forgiveness.
1 John 1:9
"9 If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous, so that He will forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness."
James 5:15-16 "…15 And the prayer offered in faith will restore the one who is sick. The Lord will raise him up. If he has sinned, he will be forgiven. 16 Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man has great power to prevail. "
The sickness we deal with the most is not physical, it is emotionally and spiritually. When we are emotionally and spiritually mature we handle the physical illness much better. Our emotional and spiritual well-being drives everything else in our lives.
One of the reasons we have a very high divorce rate among Christians today is because their view of marriage as being an enhancement to their own existence is what leaves them emotionally and spiritually immature.
Many people do not understand the cleansing power of confession of sin. It revitalizes a saddened and burdened soul. Yes, I said that, those who are too prideful to admit their flaws and failings live in a sort of prison of their own making. If they would just admit their failings, confess them openly to restore relationships they would find such freedom and release of stress. There is great pressure occurring in the heart of unrepentant people.
A sort of battle that goes on in unrepentant hearts leaves them continually justifying their own sin as well as blaming others for what they started. Continual blame is the tactic that keeps unrepentant people in a state of continual stress.
Those who can freely admit their sin to be cleansed have freedom in their soul that is beyond human understanding. This is why it is sad that so many people will not address sin, thinking that coddling others is making them feel better, but it is no help at all.
A person standing in the sewer up to his waist can put his hands over his eyes and nose so as not to see or smell the sewage might feel better momentarily but the sewage remains. The problem is not solved and no one grows to become better people.
How much do we actually love people or respect ourselves, I would say very little. If we love and respect people we will want for them what makes them better people, not that which gives them a momentary "feeling" that is deceptive.
Many people believe they are going to heaven who have never trusted in Christ. They merely "feel" they are going, but the evidence that they are saved from hell does not exist.
John 14:6-7 "5“Lord,” said Thomas, “we do not know where You are going, so how can we know the way?” 6 Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me. 7 If you had known Me, you would know My Father as well. From now on you do know Him and have seen Him.”…"
Our "feelings" are nothing, they are fleshly response to stimuli, they do not tell the truth most of the time. When we watch a sad movie we cry, why? Because our feelings are being manipulated by a story that isn't even true and yet we feel sad.
Those who live in sin outside of marriage feel good about the relationships until they don't anymore. There is no stability in a relationship like this, only feelings. This is why so many who live together eventually get married because it "feels" secure for them, but only a few years later they divorce.
our culture lives and breathes according to feelings far more than rational and reasonable thing. When feelings are our source of truth we will not be sacrificial for the sake of another person. Feelings come and go and are based on freshly responses, they are not the basis of truth.
It is sacrificial and a sense of dedication that causes a marriage to survive, not feelings. Noble conduct is nearly absent from our culture today. Even good deeds are done to wave them around like a flag for everyone to see to self glorify.
Matthew 23:4-5 "…4 They tie up heavy, burdensome loads and lay them on men’s shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to lift a finger to move them. 5 All their deeds are done for men to see. They broaden their phylacteries and lengthen their tassels. 6 They love the places of honor at banquets, the chief seats in the synagogues,…"
The Pharisees thought they were spiritual because of their outer deeds that got the praise of men. Why do so many hide their sins and failings in our culture, even claiming their sins are not sins? The answer is clear, they love their sin and they want the validation of others for that sin.
John 12:42-43 "42 Nevertheless, many of the leaders believed in Him; but because of the Pharisees they did not confess Him, for fear that they would be put out of the synagogue. 43 For they loved praise from men more than praise from God. "
When we have a self-focus it always leads to compromise and justification for sin. The focus becomes on the superficial and external while making no assessment of the character of the inner man.
Job prayed this way: Job 13:23
“How many are my iniquities and sins?
Make known to me my rebellion and my sin."
David prayed this way: Psalm 32:3-5
"When I kept silent about my sin, my body wasted away
Through my groaning all day long.
For day and night Your hand was heavy upon me;
My vitality was drained away as with the fever heat of summer. Selah.
I acknowledged my sin to You,
And my iniquity I did not hide;
I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the Lord”;
And You forgave the guilt of my sin. Selah.
There is nothing to be gained by pretending we have no sin, but everything to be gained by repenting, admitting openly and confessing to God to be cleansed. The gain is the restoration of relationships and personal peace.
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