J Heinrich Arnold-Freedom from sinful thoughts.pdf

11. ConfessionJESUS SAYS in Matthew 6:22–24 that as long as we tryto serve two masters, we live in darkness. How, then,can we find the singleness of heart that brings us into hislight? First, we must see that our inner eye is pure, andnot lowered by the shame of unconfessed sin. As long aswe remain burdened by hidden guilt, we will never findfull freedom or joy: the eye will stay sick, and so thewhole body will remain in darkness.Confession – the act of unburdening our sins tosomeone else in order to be freed of their weight – issimple enough to define, but never easy to practice. AsBaudouin writes, “When we discover that we havecreated our own misery, this recognition containssomething so humbling for us that we are reluctant toacknowledge it.” He goes on, “Yet precisely because wehave created our misery, it is essential for us to beabsolutely truthful about our failings in order to findhealing.”