Bible Passage: “Jerusalem has sinned greatly and so has become unclean. All who honored her despise her, for they have all seen her naked; she herself groans and turns away.” (Lamentations 1:8 NIV)
Scripture Reading: Lamentations 1:8-19
A friend once pondered aloud as we kayaked down a slow-moving river, trying to catch, well, anything that would bite:
“Why is confession so hard?”
Uncharacteristically, I didn’t have a quick answer. That’s rather revealing. To respond would have been to acknowledge that I’ve experienced that difficulty. Experiencing that difficulty is a confession in itself.
This is not, like most issues, a male-specific issue. Confession is difficult regardless of sex (or age or ethnicity).
But it does have a specifically sharp edge for men.
The deep cut of confession wounds the male conception of himself as champion, hero, fixer, and probably most intrinsically, avoider of consequences. This has been true since the beginning.
Let’s confess together. We’d rather point the finger at someone or something else as needing the blame. It’s nearly genetic. All the way back to the first time confession was necessary, men pointed the finger at someone else—Adam blamed both God and Eve (see Genesis 3:12).
But, as it’s said, confession is good for the soul. When men can muster the strength to utter words of responsibility, to point, not outside ourselves, but bend that finger back toward ourselves, we discover the freedom that only exists through confession. The freedom of avoiding consequences weighs like an anchor compared to the freedom when confession sets you adrift.
Lamentations presents a picture of confession that opens the way to freedom and growth. The opening words of Lamentations 1:8 are frank and honest:
“Jerusalem has sinned greatly and so has become unclean.”
There is no exaggeration. No “woe to me.” This is not dramatic self-flagellation. This is honest ownership of fact.
Everything in Lamentations that precedes and follows is tied to this confession. The collapse in the preceding verses (see yesterday’s devotional), the horrors of the following verses, are the consequences of sin—God’s judgment for Israel’s convenient failure.
The realities of Jerusalem’s situation, of what Jeremiah sees as he looks upon the ruined city, summon only one response:
Confession.
It is difficult. Confession is reality. Blame is fantasy. Fantasy has no future. Confession is not the last word.
Prayer: God, I do not like to confess. Admitting fault and accepting responsibility is not easy. But I know You are gracious and compassionate, full of mercy and abounding in love. Help me to understand that confession is for me. Help me to confess freely when confession is needed. Amen.
Reflection: Spend some time reflecting today on your own habit of confession. Ask God to show you where and what you need to confess.
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