Whoever covers over his sins does not prosper.
Whoever confesses and abandons them receives compassion.
Proverbs 28:13
Not one person has God’s approval” (Rom. 3:10). No one is perfect. We all mess up and get it wrong, and there’s nothing more ugly, nothing more ungodly than a person who says, “I haven’t done anything wrong,” and refuses to admit his or her mistakes.
Confession can feel as uncomfortable as being stripped of all your clothes and forced to run naked through a crowd of people. But confessing when you do something wrong is the foundation of all faith. Without confession you wouldn’t be saved, because your confession is what first brought you to your knees and brought Jesus to your heart.
Confession of sin is crucial to the life of the believer, and so is apologizing when your sin hurts others. The fact is that when you apologize, you don’t actually look vulnerable; you look strong. The strong girl is the one who can control herself enough to risk embarrassment or disdain from others in order to be godly. The strong girl isn’t afraid of the wrath of people, but only of God. And the strong girl puts the feelings and needs of others first and refuses to be ruled by the fear of others finding out she’s an imperfect person.
An apology turns away wrath. It turned away the wrath of God when you offered it to him, and it will turn away the wrath of the people you’ve wronged when you offer it to them. Apologizing when you’ve been wrong restores relationships. It builds trust and strengthens love.
A quick apology is like pulling a splinter out of your finger: it gets the pain over with, eliminates the danger of infection, and lets the healing begin. So be quick to apologize, and you will discover that truth never disappoints and confession is the foundation of all things pure and godly. Bring your darkness into the light, think about your sin, and let the words “I’m sorry, please forgive me” be your friend.