day two: forty days of confession

During the forty days of Lent from Ash Wednesday to Easter Sunday (forty days not counting Sundays), Jayme Thompson and I will post daily devotionals on this blog to help guide you through the season. Lent is an ancient tradition in the church intended to be a time of focusing on the cross. To help us in this pursuit, we are studying the book of Hebrews in a series called, "Journey of Hope". It is appropriate that we use this book during our fast, as the theme of Hebrews is "Fix your eyes on Jesus."

Forty Days of Confession
Jayme Thompson

He who conceals his sins does not prosper, but whoever confesses and renounces them finds mercy. Proverbs 28:13

Getting ready for 40 days of confession sounds fairly intense. It's a little hard to imagine how to start. One idea is to just list all the things one feels badly about. While that's a pretty therapeutic approach, it's probably not going to be particularly life changing.

The truth is, we're all pretty aware already of our own major faults of personality, temptations, and the glaring sin in our life. These are, no doubt, things that need to be dealt with, but they can mask the subtler failures that we've never examined. For example, dealing with a drug addiction can be so overwhelming and guilt-inducing that an addict may never reach a point of conviction regarding, say the giving of the tithe. Feelings can teach us about ourselves but they can also deceive.

In his "Letters to Malcolm" C.S. Lewis said, "I have found (to my regret) that the degrees of shame and disgust which I actually feel at my own sins do not at all correspond to what my reason tells me about their comparative gravity. ...Our emotional reactions to our own behaviour are of limited ethical significance."

On the other hand, sometimes we nickle and dime ourselves into giant mistakes. Thinking we are basically pretty good people, well above average at least and listing the many things we do right (church attendance, service, loving our family, tithing and giving, and fill-in-the-blank with whatever) somehow licenses us to participate in a few pet sins.

The heart is deceitful and wicked. It's hard to see ourselves. Only the light of scripture and its truth can show us who we really are and who we're really meant to be.

Don't consult yourself so much - you're a liar. I know because I am too. Spend some time today in the Word - even a few minutes and ask God how you can be more like Him starting now.