“HONESTY – Honesty that Brings Healing”
Most Christians understand and accept the importance of being honest, both with themselves and with God. In 1 John, the Bible tells us that when we confess our sins to God, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. The Bible also says that Jesus took the punishment we deserve upon Himself when He died on the cross. Jesus died for my sins, so that when I confess them, God forgives them.
Usually, we tell ourselves that it doesn’t have to go any further than that: “If I’m honest with myself and with God, that’s enough.” But AHA requires more.
James 5:16 speaks of confessing our sins to one another and praying for one another “so that you may be healed.” When we are honest with God about our sins, He forgives us, but when we are honest with others, we find healing.
What does “healing” mean?
Well, the practice of confessing our sins to one another holds us accountable and helps us find the encouragement we need to break the cycle of our struggle. When we take what we have kept in the dark and drag it kicking and screaming into the light, we find that it loses much of its power over us.
And the healing James talks about is more literal than you might think. Check this out: A secular contemporary psychology textbook entitled Coping with Stress confirms the healing power of confession. The author claims that, “people who tend to keep secrets have more physical and mental complaints, on average, than people who do not… [including] greater anxiety, depression, and bodily symptoms such as back pain and headaches… The initial embarrassment of confessing is frequently outweighed by the relief that comes with the verbalization of the darker secretive aspects of the self.”
Proverbs 28:13 echoes these findings: “Whoever conceals their sins does not prosper, but the one who confesses and renounces them finds mercy.”
Read James 5:16.
16 Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.
Read 1 John 1:5-10.
5 This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all. 6 If we claim to have fellowship with him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live out the truth. 7 But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin.
8 If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. 9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. 10 If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word is not in us.
How has the act of confessing your sins to others helped you in the past? Are there any secret sins that you have been bottling up, unwilling to expose them to the light?
