keep us humble

by Heather Lee

"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."

James 5:16

I learned about confession at a young age.

I was at primary school and I had brought a packed lunch with me. There wasn’t much in it compared to some of the other children and I finished it quickly. So quickly that my friend asked me if I’d had anything at all! I said, no, someone had stolen my lunch.

This was a lie,

but my friend was so concerned that my lunch had been stolen that she said, ‘We must tell the headteacher straightaway!’ I had to go along with the lie and ended up being consoled in the headteacher’s office and he bought me some crisps and a drink from the canteen to make up for my ‘stolen’ lunch.

I felt awful.

I went home that evening and was clearly upset about what had happened because my mum asked me what the matter was. I caved and told her everything. She was very kind to me and asked, how are we going to make this right? I knew I had to tell the headteacher about my lie and apologise.

My mum also suggested paying him back for the drink and crisps he has bought me (which was only about 35p - it was a long time ago!)

I went straight over to him in the playground the next morning and told him everything. I said sorry and gave him the money for the food.

It was a hard experience to go through as a child but I will always remember the kindness of my mum and of the headteacher when I confessed to them both. I was immediately released from the torment and forgiven for my sin.

As believers, we should confess our sins to one another. It can strengthen friendships, keep us humble, maintain a clear conscience and build trust.

If you’re struggling with sin today, perhaps you could pray and ask God to show someone you could confess your struggle to. You could even ask them to hold you accountable and keep checking in to make sure you’re on the right track.

Heavenly Father, please help me to confess my sins when I need to and put people in my life who can hold me accountable.

Amen.