Excerpt from Romans 2:1-11

"Do you not realize that God's kindness is meant to lead to repentance?"

Reflection by William C. Green

We've got it backwards. It's not repentance that leads to God's kindness but the other way around. It's God's kindness that inspires repentance. As Bill Coffin used to say, absolution or the "words of assurance" ought to precede rather than follow the general prayer of confession. The assurance of love makes me wonder why, then, I've behaved as I have. It opens flood gates that held back the truth.

All of us struggle to make peace with our conscience. We often deny what we have done to block that peace. We find excuses, dwell on how badly we've been wronged, and try to squirm out from beneath the full weight of our conduct. We may work hard to be "good," trying to counteract our wrongs. We do everything we can to even the score. This is tiresome and futile. Only admitting the truth can set us free.

We don't want to hear still more about guilt in church. Today's concerns about self-esteem also give guilt a bad name. But the problem is not the truth about guilt but how it's handled. The issue is greater happiness, not guilt-tripping.

There is no real freedom without confession. Nothing inspires that confession more than kindness. We're loved just as we are, but too much to want to stay that way.

Prayer

Eternal God, under your judgment we stand, and by your mercy we are forgiven. Help us to know this—and to tell the truth. Amen.

About the Author William C. Green, a United Church of Christ minister, is the Director of Long Looking, a consultancy service specializing in fundraising and education for congregations. His new book, 52 Ways to Ignite Your Congregation: Generous Giving, has just been published.

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