“If we claim we have no sin,
we are only fooling ourselves and not living in the truth.” (1 John 1:8 NLT)
Many of
us wear masks of some sort. We don’t want anyone to see the real us; we don’t
want anyone to see our faults. Often, we try to cover up our faults and mistakes
in one of two ways:
·
We blame others. Adam did this after he ate
from the tree. He blamed Eve (who blamed the snake). We’ve been blaming others
ever since. We don’t want to admit our faults, so we turn the attention to
someone else. We just want to get the focus off of us.
·
We also make excuses. We pretend nothing is wrong.
Life is going great. We’ve got it all together. Unfortunately, pretending
doesn’t work. The Bible says in I John 1:8, " If we claim we have no sin,
we are only fooling ourselves and not living in the truth" (NLT).
You have
to face your faults to be freed from them. Face it head on, and own it: “I did
it. I’ve been arrogant in how I’ve treated people. I haven’t been a good father
or a good husband. I’ve been a poor leader.” It’s time you just said it.
Don’t use
the word but at the end of the
confession. Don’t say, “It’s not a big deal.” Don’t try to tell people
it’s really a strength. Just admit it, and be free.
Talk About It
What
would the freedom that comes with facing your faults allow you to do?
Rick Warren is the
founding pastor of Saddleback
Church in Lake Forest, Calif., one of America's largest and
most influential churches. Rick is author of the New York Times
bestseller "The Purpose Driven Life." His
book, "The Purpose Driven Church," was named one of the
100 Christian books that changed the 20th century. He is also the founder
of Pastors.com,
a global Internet community for pastors.
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