Temptation and the Role of Community
"Therefore confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another, so that you may be healed. The prayer of the righteous is powerful and effective." James 5:16 NRSV
In the presence of our Lord, we can safely identify 2-3 major areas in our life where we are most prone to sin. This revelation can be upsetting, making it tempting to lock up these areas of our life so that no one ever finds out who we really are and what we struggle with. However, this is incredibly dangerous!
Our temptation and sin must be brought into the light of Jesus in a community of spiritual friends who can love and support us on our journey to becoming like Jesus. I am not suggesting that you have to share your areas of struggle with every person you meet. However, we all need a small group of trusted friends who can keep us accountable. Openly discussing our areas of temptation and confessing our sins to each other is healthy and keeps us from isolating and compartmentalizing our sins. Any temptation that remains in the darkness will grow into habitual sin and eventually will lead to spiritual death.
If you already have a few trusted friends, are you regularly meeting with them to confess your sins and to give them access to speak truth into your life? If you don't have this kind of relationship in your life, begin praying today that Jesus would bring someone into your life with whom you can openly share your areas of temptation and sin. We were never meant to live our spiritual lives in isolation.
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