Tonight at Elevate we are talking about confession. Sounds fun doesn't it? I'm not sure what expect as far as students are concerned. Where do High Schoolers and Middle Schoolers fall when it comes to confessing sin?

I mean I have trouble confessing when I eat the last brownie at my house. I usually blame it on my kids. Despite that one can't eat brownies and the other can't reach them.

My goal when teaching is to look at the benefits of confession. 

Yes I just put "benefits" and "confession" in the same sentence. Our problem with confession is that we view confession as a prelude to jail. You can thank all of those police shows on tv. As a result we tend to not recognize confession as an act that EVERYONE should take part in.  Therefore we miss out on the benefits of confession. 

Don't get me wrong. Confession is hard and often times there are consequences that result from whatever it is that you are confessing. But it's essential to following God. Let me explain by listing the benefits of confession.

1. Let go of guilt. - When we sin and we realize it, there often is some guilt associated with it. Perhaps you hurt someone. Perhaps your sin costs them something. Perhaps you are just ashamed of what you did. Guilt can over run your life. It can keep you from following God. By confessing to God and others, you can begin to let go of the guilt that runs your life. As a result life gets a little easier. 

2.Grow closer to God - Sin also keeps us from growing closer to God. Sometimes when I have unconfessed sin I try to grow closer to God but nothing happens. I try everything but I remain in the same place. I get frustrated with God until God tells me that there are some things in my life that aren't right. Once I confess my sin, I instantly start to feel like I can continue to grow closer to God.

3.Builds Community - As humans we crave community. Just look at the 500 million people who seek community on Facebook. The problem with sin is that it causes rifts between people. Ever had someone stab you in the back? Confession (filled with remorse and repentance) can begin to rebuild the community that was hurt by sin. 

4.Brings Change - Can you imagine what would happen if the world would start to own up for it's mistakes? Can you imagine what would happen in your family or our church? Confession is the first step to bring change about. 

As a parent you are in a tough spot of talking to your kids about confession. I mean it's not like you can go to your kid and say "do you have anything to confess? Like that time you snuck out?" I mean you can do that, but I don't think your child would respond well to it. 

Your best bet to help your child understand confession is to model it for them. So let me be bold for a minute. 

Is there anything that you can confess to your child?  Somewhere that you fell short as a parent? 

Give it a thought. Give it a shot. 

Enjoy growing closer to God through confession.