Confess your sins to one another.
It doesn't seem to be something very practiced today especially in Protestant circles, but the Torah encourages us towards the art of confession. It is a very good humility exercise, and it helps us to be nicer to those whom we feel are not as good as we are. It certainly challenges our own natural arrogance.
In the fifth chapter of the Book of Numbers, we find the following text,
Speak to the people of Israel, when a man or woman commits any of the sins that people commit by breaking faith with Adonai, and that person realizes his guilt, he shall confess his sin that he has committed. And he shall make full restitution for his wrong, adding a fifth to it and giving it to him to whom he did the wrong. (Numbers 5:6–7).
On Yom Kippur also the sins of Israel are to be confessed upon the goat that is to be sent in the wilderness (Leviticus 16:21). It could be that modern Protestantism has distanced itself from the idea of confession because of its negative Catholic connotation, but the difference between that and what the Torah teaches, is that confession is to be made before Hashem, not before men.
King David was great at confessing his sins before Hashem. He said, "Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight, so that you may be justified in your words and blameless in your judgment" (Psalm 51:4), and "I acknowledged my sin to you, and I did not cover my iniquity; I said, ‘I will confess my transgressions to Adonai,’ and you forgave the iniquity of my sin. Selah" (Psalm 32:5).
James, the brother of the Master, actually connected the principles of healing and confession together. He said,
Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of Adonai. And the prayer of faith will save the one who is sick, and Adonai will raise him up. And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven. Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working. (James 5:14–16)
Maybe when someone asks for healing prayer, they should also confess and acknowledge their sins. Finally, John the beloved disciple teaches us to use confession in order to keep the reality of our sinful nature in front of us. He says,
If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us. (1 John 1: 8–10)
P. Gabriel Lumbroso
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