1 John 1:5-10
“This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light, and there is absolutely no darkness in him. If we say, “We have fellowship with him,” and yet we walk in darkness, we are lying and are not practicing the truth. If we walk in the light as he himself is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin. If we say, “We have no sin,” we are deceiving ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say, “We have not sinned,” we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.”
Recently I had a discussion with one of my customers about the topic of shame and how it affects our lives. We do not live out the truth in our lives when we fail to confess our sins. Not just confession to God but to one another. 
Without confession there can be no healing. Yet we allow shame to creep in and prevent us from experiencing life and community the way God intended for us. All across the globe there are people in churches who struggle with pornography, drugs, alcohol, over eating, gossip, same sex attraction and countless other things. Yet healing is not taking place in our community because we are so beholden to shame. Healing is a far away thing we long for but can never achieve. The Church has lost its way when it comes to shame. The world around us sees the importance of confession. How many AA meetings take place on a daily basis in our communities? How many weight watcher groups meet regularly? The world imitates what God has designed in us that can only be fully realized thru Him. We have a desire for community and healing that can only happen thru confession to one another.
For all of my teenage years I felt alone in my sin. I did not think anyone else struggled with what I was dealing with. It was not until my senior year in college that I realized that some of my friends had the same struggles as I had. Shame prevented me from talking about my issues. Yet I had friends I could have talked to, friends that if we would only confess our sins to one another could help better hold ourselves accountable. Even now it is hard for me to talk about what I struggle with, where I fall short.
Shame is a powerful thing. Shame prevents us from living life fully. There are countless young couples who wait to have sex until they are married. My wife and I both waited. But the funny thing is all of our lives we were taught how bad sex was and how wrong it was. That on many couples wedding night there is still shame and guilt after sex. Shame no one discusses. Shame for an act that is Holy in Gods eyes.
We have to overcome this culture of shame. Part of the answer is confession, another has to be how we teach about certain things. How we teach about sin in our lives. Shame has no place in a believers life that lives truth out. Do we all sin and fall short, yes. But we are forgiven, we are made righteous, we are made holy, we are joint heirs with Christ to the Kingdom. Are there consequences to sin, absolutely. But shame should not be one if we live in a community of believers. Confession heals. Shame only isolates us from another and prevents community.
Behind The Keyhole 