By Shannon Caughey

One of the reasons coaches regularly watch game film with their athletes is because the film shows it like it is. Athletes are confronted with their mistakes and poor judgment. Coaches, too, see where they made a poor decision or didn’t provide their athletes with what they need. The practice of watching game film gives both athletes and coaches an opportunity to own what went wrong and then pursue progress toward a better course of action. 

The ”game film” of our lives shows we all say and do wrong things. It’s what the Bible calls “sin.” Sin is anything we say, do, or even think that is contrary to God’s good design for us. Whether or not it seems like it in the moment, sin is always damaging to us and to those around us. We add to the destructiveness of our sin when we try to hide it, rationalize it, or blame others for it. If we want to make spiritual progress, we instead need to own and deal with our sin. Growth in our relationship with the Lord involves the practice of confessing our sin.

While King David in the Bible trusted God and lived for him in amazing ways, he also had moments when he sinned and attempted to hide his sin. Listen to what David says about this in Psalm 32:3, 5 – “When I refused to confess my sin, my body wasted away, and I groaned all day long… Finally, I confessed all my sins to you and stopped trying to hide my guilt. I said to myself, ‘I will confess my rebellion to the Lord.’ And you forgave me! All my guilt is gone.”

Honestly confessing his sin made all the difference for David in dealing with the damage his sin caused, including to his relationship with the Lord. Here are some things we learn from this psalm about the practice of confession:

First, own our sin. Like David, we must stop our attempts to hide our guilt, excuse our sin, or blame our sin on others. We must resist the temptation of image-management and instead humbly take ownership for what we’ve said or done. We cannot deal with our sin if we don’t acknowledge that it is truly a problem.

Second, honestly confess our sin to God. As David says in v. 5, all sin is “rebellion”—rebellion against God and what he’s made clear is his design for us. When we sin, we’re saying to God, “I want to do things my way, not yours.” Confession is recognizing and being grieved by the truth that our sin is against God. Confession is saying to God, “I’m sorry for my rebellion against you. I’m sorry for doing things my way, not yours. Please forgive me.”

Finally, gratefully receive God’s forgiveness for our sin. Because of what Jesus Christ has done for us—paying the penalty for our sin through his sacrificial death on the cross and demonstrating his victory over sin through his resurrection from the dead—we can now receive full forgiveness for our sin. When we surrender our lives in faith to Christ, he forgives all our sins. Experiencing the reality of this forgiveness happens day by day as we own any sin choices we make and confess them honestly to the Lord. We can then gratefully live in the truth of 1 John 1:9—“If we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all wickedness.”

Coach, the practice of confession is essential to ongoing growth in your relationship with the Lord. As soon as you recognize you’ve sinned in any way, confess it humbly to God. Gratefully receive the forgiveness for your sin he offers. And through his power and grace, pursue a better course of action. The practice of confession brings progress.

For reflection: Ask the Lord to make you aware (if you aren’t already) of any unconfessed sin in your life. Own your sin, honestly confess it to the Lord, and receive his forgiveness. Express your gratitude to him for his love and grace.