"Hold up, dude, I got this log in my eye."

"Witness with actions. When necessary, use words." I heard that cliché a lot growing up, and I did my best to live by it. However, I did it wrongly. I did my best to appear like a "good" Christian. I tried to appear as though I didn't sin very much because a "good" Christian doesn't sin very much. I wanted people to think that I had it all together because (I thought) that would lead them to Jesus. I may not have done this consciously, but subconsciously I made this relationship:

Jesus lived a perfect life → I need to be like Jesus → I'm not perfect, but I can appear to have it all together

I figured people would see how put together and awesome my life was, and they'd think, "Man, that Stephen Geiger, he's got it going on. I want a life like that." I thought that I would be doing that for the glory of God, but in all reality the only one that would receive glory for it was myself. There is another word for the life I was portraying, self-righteousness.

Throughout the New Testament of the Bible, there are some people that are very much related to the idea of self-righteousness, the Pharisees. Now, from growing up in church, I always knew the Pharisees weren't the good guys. But in the past year or so, I've actually looked at who the pharisees were. The Pharisees were men that were very committed to the temple. They tithed, they memorized the first five books of the Bible, they followed the law, they even followed extra laws that were supposedly passed down orally by Moses. As I learned these things, I realized the Pharisees weren't that bad of guys. They were actually more like churchgoers or deacons, if not better. They were most likely a better "Christian" than I have ever been. I mean, I don't even have 3 John memorized (shortest book in the Bible). I have found that many of us are guilty of being a pharisee in some situation, if not in many situations. Jesus, in Matthew 23:27, calls the Pharisees whitewashed tombs,which outwardly appear beautiful, but within are full of dead people's bones and all uncleanness. So basically, they appeared to have it all together outwardly, but inwardly they were a mess. Sound familiar?

When we try to appear "holier than thou," we are actually taking glory away from God. In Luke 7:36-50, there is an account of an encounter between Jesus, a Pharisee, and a prostitute. Jesus ends up telling the Pharisee, "...I tell you, her sins, which are many, are forgiven--for she loved much. But he who is forgiven little, loves little." By trying to mask our sins, we are trying to make it seem like Jesus didn't save us from much. And I know for a fact that I am royally screwed up. Without His grace and mercy, I'd be on a crash-course headed straight for hell.

Now, I'm not saying that we should wear a t-shirt that has our deepest, darkest sins on display for all to see. However, I do believe that each of us should have a group of people that we can share our deepest, darkest sins with. James 5:16 says, "Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other, that you may be healed." I don't think James is just talking about a physical healing here. Each time we share tell others about our screw ups, a spiritual healing occurs inside ourselves. Also, by confessing our sins, we give glory to God because we are saying how awesome He is that even though we are severely screwed up, He still loves us and He still saved us!! In John 1:14, it is said that Jesus is "full of grace and truth." This means that He knows everything about us. every. last. thought. Yet, He still loved us so much that he died for us AND rose again! Thank God for His grace.

I believe that by sharing our sins with others, we understand more Romans 8:1 where it says, "There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus." No condemnation?! Praise God! And by telling each other, we can rejoice together that we are no longer condemned!!! Jesus also says in Matthew 18:20, "Where two or three are gathered in my name, I am there too." So when you and your buddies are rejoicing in no condemnation for the sins you just confessed, Jesus is there with you receiving glory!!! It's a win-win-win. So tell people what you're going through, it sucks to keep it bottled up. I know I usually end up feeling guilty rather than feeling the reality of no condemnation. As my friend, Travis Chase, would say, "Sharing is caring."

For more on this topic:
"Jesus is Grace" - Judah Smith
"I Don't Know What To Name An Article About My Masturbation Habits" - Matt Carter (Emery)
"Better Together" - Judah Smith

-I was dead, now I'm alive