The Bible makes the point that the fear of man is a snare. In other
words our fear, or if you prefer our concern, over what others think
about us can end up entrapping us.
In the case of trying to deal effectively with and defeat our sin addictions, or if you prefer--sin struggles or besetting sins, our fear of what others think about us will entrap us in our shame to the point that we will not pursue the only real and lasting means of freedom there is, which is confession or what we often think of as self-exposure.
No one and I mean no one wants to be exposed for who they really know themselves to be and what they know themselves to have done or be doing. In fact, if I were a betting man, I would be quite confident wagering a couple month’s salary that one of the biggest fears most Christians have is the fear of exposure. Most of us are deathly afraid of having our past as well as our present hidden thoughts, motives, attitudes, actions, words, and especially our besetting sins made public for anyone and everyone to see. And if you don’t think we’re all that concerned about what others think about us—what’s the first thing we do when we find out someone has hacked our Facebook account and posted something morally questionable or ridiculously stupid in our name? Well, obviously, we get rid of the post ASAP and then make sure we get the point across several times that “it wasn’t us” never-minding the fact that if the truth really be known--what was posted was fairly mild compared to what we know to be true about ourselves.
All of us, myself included, are very much concerned with how others perceive us, actually see us, or know about us and especially our failures. We don’t want others, especially our peers, to think less of the image we are working tirelessly to project of ourselves. The problem with all this however, is that we are projecting an image of ourselves that is not real thus forcing us to live and perpetuate a lie all because we value the opinion of others more than we do the truth and the only opinion which really matters—God’s. This devaluation of God and over-evaluation of man leads us to run from the one thing that can free us from this trap of shame that keeps us from experiencing eventual freedom from our sin issues and greater intimacy with God. That one thing is exposure in which, we expose ourselves before God and man for who we really are—sinners, what we are really struggling with—sin, and what we really need forgiveness for—our sin.
The Bible puts it this way in Proverbs 28:13: “He who conceals his transgressions will not prosper, But he who confesses [exposure] and forsakes [repentance] them will find compassion.” In other words, what we call exposure God calls freedom.
In the case of trying to deal effectively with and defeat our sin addictions, or if you prefer--sin struggles or besetting sins, our fear of what others think about us will entrap us in our shame to the point that we will not pursue the only real and lasting means of freedom there is, which is confession or what we often think of as self-exposure.
No one and I mean no one wants to be exposed for who they really know themselves to be and what they know themselves to have done or be doing. In fact, if I were a betting man, I would be quite confident wagering a couple month’s salary that one of the biggest fears most Christians have is the fear of exposure. Most of us are deathly afraid of having our past as well as our present hidden thoughts, motives, attitudes, actions, words, and especially our besetting sins made public for anyone and everyone to see. And if you don’t think we’re all that concerned about what others think about us—what’s the first thing we do when we find out someone has hacked our Facebook account and posted something morally questionable or ridiculously stupid in our name? Well, obviously, we get rid of the post ASAP and then make sure we get the point across several times that “it wasn’t us” never-minding the fact that if the truth really be known--what was posted was fairly mild compared to what we know to be true about ourselves.
All of us, myself included, are very much concerned with how others perceive us, actually see us, or know about us and especially our failures. We don’t want others, especially our peers, to think less of the image we are working tirelessly to project of ourselves. The problem with all this however, is that we are projecting an image of ourselves that is not real thus forcing us to live and perpetuate a lie all because we value the opinion of others more than we do the truth and the only opinion which really matters—God’s. This devaluation of God and over-evaluation of man leads us to run from the one thing that can free us from this trap of shame that keeps us from experiencing eventual freedom from our sin issues and greater intimacy with God. That one thing is exposure in which, we expose ourselves before God and man for who we really are—sinners, what we are really struggling with—sin, and what we really need forgiveness for—our sin.
The Bible puts it this way in Proverbs 28:13: “He who conceals his transgressions will not prosper, But he who confesses [exposure] and forsakes [repentance] them will find compassion.” In other words, what we call exposure God calls freedom.
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