Are You Lying To Yourself?

(The following is an excerpt from our upcoming book, Forgiveness 101 , which you can read RIGHT NOW FOR FREE in the discussion section of our FMU Facebook page . The intro and the first two chapters are live already. The rest is being posted a little at a time each weekday.)

What we’re getting at here is the importance of confession.

Let’s say my 5-year-old son, James, colors on the wall, but denies it. Can he be forgiven?

Yes… and no.

Yes, Julie and I can still forgive the offense, clean up the mess, and forget about it. This is extending forgiveness… to whoever is guilty.

But if James never owns up to his crime, he can’t experience the forgiveness we have extended. He has chosen not to receive our forgiveness. Actually, He might not even feel bad about what he did. He may very well continue to go about life as if it never happened, but it did happen and he cannot truly be released from his guilt until he comes clean.

But what if we actually saw James color on the wall – what if we even tell him, “James, we know you did it.” – and he still won’t confess. Now his past sin sours our present relationship even more, as he continues to lie to us with our full knowledge. (Know someone like that?)

Actually, he’s really lying to himself. He’s convinced himself that pretending he hasn’t wronged us will be better for him (and his relationship with us) than confessing he has wronged us. Instead, he’s making things worse.

And when it comes to hiding our sin from God, we lie to ourselves every time, because God knows… everything. He may come out to the garden calling “Adam… where are you?” But he knows full well where you are (latitude, longitude & elevation) and what you’ve been up to (and for that matter, what you’re wearing… “Nice fig leaf!”). He’s just giving you a sacred opportunity to confess.

(From Chapter 2 of Forgiveness 101. Read the rest - as well as the intro and chapter 1 in the discussion section of our FMU Facebook page.)