The problem isn’t just that we sin; it’s that we can’t talk about it. We’re comfortable with tales of people who used to sin, because they have happy endings. Imagine going to a counsellor and saying, ‘I only want to discuss problems I used to have. Please don’t ask me to confess any current ones. I would be embarrassed. I’m afraid you would reject me.’ Why would you go to a counsellor and try to convince them that you don’t need counsel? People are okay telling a doctor about their physical problem or a mechanic about a problem with their car. Shouldn’t we be okay telling each other when we have a problem? If you want God (or anyone else) to love the real you, you have to work at ‘getting real’. David was Israel’s best king, but he was a polygamist. He was also a horrible father. He coveted another man’s wife, committing adultery with her, attempting to deceive her husband, ultimately having him murdered, and covering up his crime for a year; so, he was a coveter, an adulterer, a liar, and a murderer. As somebody quipped, ‘Nobody in those days was walking around wearing a “What Would David Do?” bracelet.’ Yet the Bible calls David ‘a man after [God’s] own heart’ (1 Samuel 13:14 NIV). Is it possible for someone to be struggling so intensely with sin and yearning for God at the same time? Yes. And it’s also why the Bible says, ‘Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed’ (James 5:16 NLT).
