Strength to Face the Marauding Tribe

In his book, The Art of Confession, Paul Wilkes tells the following story:

"When the Ku Waru warriors of Papua New Guinea were about to launch any risky activity that required close cooperation—like going into battle—they first took time to set themselves right. Not only overt actions, but even hidden feelings had to be revealed. 

"The Ku Waru men would go to a secluded spot in the jungle, kill and roast pigs, and as they shared the meal, confess to each other the items they had stolen and the animals they had mistreated. But there was still more on the agenda. The Ku Waru believed that feelings such as anger or jealousy would sap their strength and cause them to be wounded or even killed. Only through confession could these pent-up negative emotions be neutralized." (pp.24-25)

Wilkes continues by stating that the Ka Waru understand an important truth: "Only by facing our faults, misdeeds, and hateful or jealous thoughts can we be made whole again. Only then can they, and we, be at full strength and ready to face a marauding tribe … or the kids at home."

On Sunday I challenged the folks at ECC to take seriously James words to "confess your sins to each other and pray for one another that you may be healed" (James 5.16).  One of the pursue items on our Mission Briefing was to find one person and confess one sin.  

Confession: I don't always do the Mission Briefing items, myself, but I do some of them.  This week I met with a friend and confessed a sin to him (I have more than one sin, of course, but the assignment was for one sin, remember?).  He shared one with me, too.  In the end, we realized that we did not think we should stop there and we've decided to make the confession of sin a part of our weekly time together.  Doing so, as you might imagine, might make us more alert when tempted the rest of the week.  If I know I have to come clean and share my sin with another person every week, I might find the strength to resist temptation in the future.  

Confession of our sins to God brings us forgiveness, of course (1 John 1.9).  But confession to one another is helpful, too.  It can bring us greater accountability and increase our resources for the battle so that we may stand united and faithful.  What secret sins, actions, words and attitudes of the heart threaten to sap your strength as you journey through your days at work, in the community and at home as a Christ-follower?  To whom might you go and confess your sins so that you are better prepared for the battle ahead?