by Rick Warren
“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.
|
No comments:
Post a Comment