Wednesday, February 9, 2011

Smart Phone Confessional Booth

I grew up in the Catholic Church. One of the most frustrating regimes for me personally, was the time spent in the confessional booth. In order to receive Holy Communion on Sunday, you had to have spent time kneeling before the man behind the curtain. No one wanted to be caught dead staying in their seat, while the rest of the congregation went forward for the host, so on Friday afternoon, you waited on a long line, under the watchful eyes of the nuns, searching your conscience. It went something like this. "Bless me father, for I have sinned. It has been one week since my last confession. I told two lies and I disobeyed my parents." I would then receive my penance, in the form of a set number of rote prayers to recite quietly with my rosary beads. Week after week, it was the same routine.

If only I had a smart phone.
Confession App

All joking aside, confession IS good for the soul. As stated in I John, "If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness." God is a gracious loving Father who spared nothing in order to redeem us. Jesus' death on the cross, opened the door for us to be forgiven, and to enter into a relationship with him. "If we claim we have not sinned, we are calling God a liar and showing that his word has no place in our hearts."

Now, I am not against new technology that might make our lives easier. Can the Confession App help? Perhaps. But ultimately, we need each other. As followers of Christ, we should have someone we can be accountable to, such as a trusted friend or a spouse. It should be someone who is willing to encourage us to surrender to God any area of our lives that we struggle with. We were created for intimacy with God, and community with one another. So I question technology that might become a deterrent.

The app claims to "completely erase all your sins." Ha! I have been around computers enough to know that data is never fully irretrievable. However, we can depend on God's word. "For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his love for those who fear him; as far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us." Psalm 103:11-12. When Jesus took our sins upon himself at Calvary, all of our past, present and future sins were completely obliterated. Unfortunately, the consequences of our actions are not always removed, and their is often a relational price to pay. Confession, (admitting to God what he already knows) keeps our relationship with God, and others, on an intimate level...a level he longs for with each one of his children.


Be Blessed.

1 comment:

  1. :-) This made me chuckle because my husband is currently in the ''app'' business. But on a serious note, I'm thankful for the folks God has placed in my life to be accountable to. They keep me real. Blessings!

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