Bill shot me a link to a site today that just blew my mind. It's a blog started by this guy named Frank. He asks for people to mail him postcards with secrets written on them that they have never told anybody before. Then he scans them and posts them to his blog. It's amazing what people will say when you give them the opportunity. There is feedback on there from folks who mention how much better it made them feel to send him their secrets. My heart was broken a couple of times, but I also felt a little bit relieved.
Then, the more I thought about it, the more I realized that this is really not a new idea.
"Confess your sins to one another, and pray for each other, that you may be healed." James 5:16
Rob Bell calls this "spiritual vomiting". It feels good to spill our guts to somebody else. There are adverse effects to keeping that stuff inside. And just like real vomiting, you always feel way better afterward. We all need a friend in a clean shirt within puking distance.
Funny how folks these days (myself included) will latch on to something like this when the idea comes from just some guy. But if we hear that it's in the Bible, it must be some kooky, lame, religious hoop we have to jump through. A smarter man than myself (G.K. Chesterton?) once said something to the effect of: "Christianity has not been tried and found wanting, it has been found difficult and left untried."
May you and I discover the benefits of confessing our sins to trusted individuals who will hurt, even cry with us, and hold us accountable without foisting guilt upon us. May we find the shalom (peace, wholeness, harmony with God) that comes from living the way we were created to live.
Shalom,
J.T.
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