Passing-Thought

Confession or Excuse?

I admit that I'm starting to realize that there exists a fine line between the opposing worlds of confession of sin and excuse for sin. What am I really doing when I confess my sins to others? All too often, I am finding that confession, while partaking of the truth, can function in a way that excuses are intended to function: to lift the guilt that comes with sin, and to avoid or delay further judgment for it. The difference is that confession is 1) more therapeutic, 2) gives the social impression that one is accepting responsibility for sin 3) shows sign of repentance that leads to a corrective course of action or a sincere request for help.

It feels good to confess. Socially, I can use confession to elicit comfort or encouragement from others (e.g. "You're being too hard on yourself, Eric." or "you're not wholly to blame."). Excuses, however, can often appear like blameshifting, or at least not wanting to accept any personal participation in why things are not right. Thus, excuses have the disadvantage of possibily incurring further investigation and judgment about your own actions, intentions, and responsibilities.

Confession has the power of making one seem honest about themselves. Further judging someone who has honestly confessed something, seems uncompassionate, if not hypocritical ("Who can cast the first stone?"). But confession of sin, can easily turn into gaining acceptance for the problem one has with sin. Thus, I can confess sin in a way that convinces others of my being a helpless victim of sin, confessing (as a good lutheran-calvinist could quote from Romans 7) that I have no power in myself to correct the problem. In this manner, I hope that others will not be so hard on me in the future, or so hurt by me, when I fail to live up to God's law for their good and His glory. Thus, the act of confession can function as an excuse for further sin, public and private. Because of this, I think plain excuses can be more honest than confession.

Why do you think I am confessing all this to you? O my soul, go learn what this means "I desire compassion, not sacrifice."