Paddle Downstream

When lust captures us in the dark, we buy into lies that keep us in the dark: “You’ll lose everything if someone finds out.” “What are people going to think if they know?” “No one wants to know those details about your life.” “If you tell someone, it will end. You don’t want it to end.” It feels inescapable, so we do everything we can to cover it up in order to avoid coming clean. There is no freedom in the darkness. When we live in the darkness, sin has the power and control. But God has given us a community of believers to hold us accountable. It can be scary and uncomfortable to ask friends to hold us accountable, but the more we get into the habit of holding one another accountable, the more it becomes normal in our friendships. We tend to believe the lie that we would come off judgmental, annoying, or arrogant, but we have to remind ourselves that to hold a friend accountable is one of the most loving things we can do.  When we hold each other accountable, we aren’t waiting for “gotcha” moments where we can lay on the guilt and shame. Instead, we have a chance to remind one another of the goodness of God and the wealth of his grace. We remind our friends that we have the chance to restore one another and have the kind of deep fellowship we were created for. Reflection/Discussion Question: How can you start implementing accountability into your community?

I can remember being in college and resolving to confess sexual sin to my close friend at the time. It had gone on in secret for too long. I was nervous and almost bailed out of saying anything at all, but once I finally said it, I was met with a sigh of relief and a “me too.” Although our confessions of sin may not always be met with “me too,” we can still find the freedom of bringing sin that has thrived in the darkness for too long and watch it shrink in the light. First John has some sharp words to say on this matter: “This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all. If we claim to have fellowship with him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live out the truth. But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin” (1:5-7, NIV). Even if we practice sin in secret where it seemingly has no affect on the people around us, we are walking in the darkness. In order to walk in the light, all parts of our lives need to be exposed in the light. So, John makes the bold claim that if we claim to have fellowship with Christ and continue in sin without bringing it to light through confession, then we are liars. Ouch! Does this seem drastic? Think about it this way: Jesus died to destroy sin once and for all. If we claim to follow Jesus, then we will also put sin to death. If we continue living in the very thing that Jesus died to destroy, then we are no longer following Jesus, we are following our own way.  So, how do we bring sin to light? First John goes on to say, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness” (1:9, NIV). We confess our sins to God and to trusted friends. We will find that as we practice regular confession and repentance to God and our community, we will be healed. Reflection/Discussion Question: How can you start implementing confession into your community?

The thing I decided to uproot was holding back and letting someone else make the first move. Covid has done a lot to separate me from my neighbors. I’m going to uproot the thought that they don’t want to be bothered and start planting seeds of kindness to restore the loving and caring relationship we once had. Pulling up the weeds of indifference and sowing seeds of making a difference in the lives of people around me.

Pride is something I need to let go of as it can keep me from relying on others and seeing what God has in store for me. It is a mindset and habit that I am letting go of. On a recent hiking trip I carried a backpack full of supplies and when asked if I needed help carrying it my “old self” would have said no, I’m fine but this was the first time I gladly took that offer of help. I don’t have anything to prove and being stubborn doesn’t do any good and gets in the way of seeing the true vision. The hike went on and I was able to enjoy Gods glory in the woods without the additional burden both physically and metaphorically.