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Eletter for Week of February 5, 2004
My Dear Friends, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.” 1John 1:9 Lately we have been looking at the concept of Coming Clean and the impact it has on people—physically, emotionally, spiritually, and/or psychologically. We believe that Coming Clean is a process with no hold or claim on any exclusive formula. The formula will be as unique as the individuals, the circumstances, and the sin to be confronted. Coming Clean can and will mean different things to different people. For example, what I had to come clean with God about drug dealing, adultery and pornography is very different than what my children had to come clean about to me. However, the true process of Coming Clean must include two key elements. They are: contrition and transparency. If we look at all the criticism that Pete Rose has received, even from some of his strongest advocates, we can observe that his actions lack both contrition and transparency. According to the former baseball commissioner, Fay Vincent, Pete has not come totally cleaned. “Pete has only come partially clean about the transgressions which has marred an amazing athletic career.” Sports columnist Bob Padecky posits that “admission won’t mean Rose is clean. Rose was supposed to clean himself up, beat his addiction, and show everyone he was a changed man” (The Press Democrat, January 4, 2004). The Encarta Dictionary defines contrition as ‘a deep and genuine feeling of guilt and remorse - a deep sense of shame over past sins and a firm resolve not to sin in the future’. If we desire to come clean, we must first develop a contrite heart and recognize that we have done wrong. We must realize that we have hurt others and have created a wall that prevents us from having an intimate relationship with them and with God. For me, the process was not some instantaneous conviction where I realized that I was this horrific sinner with some intense desire to fix all the wrong that I had done and make things better with those I had hurt so much. It was realizing that my daily choices were separating me from God and those whom I loved. It was the feeling that something was deeply wrong and I had to fix it. The process began in earnest the day when my loved ones and I reached out to our heavenly father with such desperation that, as we each held on to HIM, we were drawn to each other. As we each became one with Him, we became one with each other. This was the liberating outcome of coming clean for me. Coming Clean is that moment of conviction and realization that, if Jesus is going to do a work in our life and He is going to fill that void deep within us and give us a new life, we have to acknowledge our sin, accept it as our responsibility, and ask forgiveness for the hurt created by our sin. Coming Clean does not mean that all the wrong we have done would be fixed and everything will be alright. What it does mean is that now WE have a chance to find healing and restoration. Healing begins when we repent with a contrite heart, not focusing on what could happen to us, but focusing on being liberated from those chains that hold us in bondage.
God bless you always,
Jorge Valdes, Ph.D.
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