Ten Commandments for Mature Living #7

Live in a more radical sobriety.

“Maturity does not mean that we are perfect or faultless, but that we are honest.”

As I have had occasion to talk to people who go to AA meetings, this is what is striking: the emphasis on honesty.  Admitting to the truth about yourself. Being desperate enough to stop trying to cover it up.

I don’t know of any practice more necessary for human maturity than confession: radical honesty. Instead of admitting to the truth about ourselves we tend to blame someone else, make excuses, lower our standards, or feel guilty and try to do better. None of those are confession; simply admitting what is true of us, standing there in the light of God.

I wonder what would happen if we began our church small groups with “Hi, my name is Carolyn, and I am a sinner.”

“If we walk in the light as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus cleanses us from all sin. “