James 5:16

Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective ~ James 5:16

 

Being humbled in the presence of another is generally not an easy matter. Instead, we want people to think highly of us, and to praise us. We do not want people to know how we let others down, how we make mistakes, how we fall short in our eyes, or in their eyes, and especially when it comes to God’s eyes, and letting Him down. If we can keep our faults hidden, all the better, right? According to James, the brother of Jesus, the answer is no, it is not until we confess our sins and faults to each other that we can truly be as Christ. Confession keeps us humble as He was humble, confession keeps us from pride and vanity and self-applause. Some faith groups believe in confession only to a priest or an elder, but James is not saying that here. It is plain: confess your sins to each other! And pray for each other! As an outsider, we may look at another’s life and think all is well, all is perfect, we should have their life! Yet, within that home there may be turmoil, sickness, financial issues, moral issues and more, which may in fact be making their Christian walk difficult. When we do not know, we cannot pray for their strength, for God’s guidance in their life, or know to provide some ministry of aid to them from our own resources. It is in knowing and being honest with each other in our struggles that we uphold each other in the Church. When we pray for one who is going through tough times, our prayers and supplications take on an energy which tends to be from outside our own self, it becomes Divine as the Holy Spirit within us cries out for another. It is not a weakness to confess our sins, it grants to us strength and power, both from our compatriot and from our God!


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