The Dignity of Confession

For when I kept silent, my bones wasted away 

through my groaning all day long. 

For day and night your hand was heavy upon me; 

my strength was dried up as by the heat of summer. 

Selah 

Psalm 32:3–4

There are a lot of Selahs in Psalm 32. At least compared to what is normal in the Psalms. Usually, we say that this word Selah means, ‘take a pause.’ So that would mean in Psalm 32, we’re supposed to take a lot of pauses as though we meditate on the words of the psalm. What is important about Psalm 32 is how it goes on a path of forgiveness and reminds us of the joy of being forgiven. 

I was just talking with a friend about how we often hide our true selves because of our sin. Instead of finding our hiding place in God, we hide from him. Like Adam and Eve in the garden, we’re afraid of being seen as a sinner. We hide ourselves, and when we hide ourselves, we rob ourselves of being restored. This is because when we hide from others, we are separating ourselves from the very people who will sanctify us from ourselves. And we are ultimately hiding from our God forgives. 

Look at the verses above: when I kept silent, my bones wasted away. It is only in verse 5 of the Psalm that we find the beginning of salvation and restoration. ‘I acknowledged my sin to you and I dd not cover (i.e. hide) my iniquity.’ It is in our honesty that we find restoration. Once we begin to the speak the truth of our brokenness, we will know forgiveness and restoration. 

Why are we so tempted to hide our problems? Why are we so tempted to lie to even ourselves about our sins? It is as though hiding things from everyone will save us, but we become bitter, and we ruin our relationships. Remember the last time you hid something like a sin from your spouse or your loved one thinking you’d be protecting yourself. Maybe you thought you were protecting them from feeling bad about your sin. Is that a good way to go? No! Because relationships are about intimacy. If we hide the wrongs we’ve done one another, then we are building a barrier between each other. 

Instead, Cyprian says this, ‘Confession is the beginning of glory…but it initiates dignity.’ This is true in our simple relationships on earth, and it is truest of our relationship with the Lord who will forgive you your sin and invite you into his shelter so you don’t have to hide yourself. When we enter into this life of confession, we live in the faithful love of the Lord who will never let you go. So don’t be afraid and don’t hide.