Musings from the Ozone

A hot, new business capitalizes on people's need to 'fess up, as well
as their interest in eaves-dropping on the confessions of others.

A fee-based phone services and Web sites allow customers to record
their confessions anonymously - anything from admissions of petty
theft to adultery and even murder. Or, those who are inclined can
listen to or read the edited sordid tales of others. (This is where
the real money is made, by the way.)

After the first year of business, one such service, The Confession
Line, reportedly made 17 million dollars. Plans were implemented to
expand from 25 telephone lines to 100. The need to confess is
pandemic!

But if confession is "good for the soul," it is also good for the
body. Why? What we hide inside eats us up.

Researcher James Pennebaker studied health benefits of confession.
Some people's secrets literally make them sick. He discovered that
criminals who confessed to lie detector technicians were often so
grateful for the physical relief they felt after "getting it all out,"
that they sent birthday, holiday and thank you cards to the polygraph
personnel who heard their stories.

Perhaps the bigger problem is that our secret IS our sickness. What we
hide is what hurts us. Whether it is big or small, past or present,
that which we carefully conceal from the rest of the world is our
sickness. And we won't begin to recover until what is concealed is
revealed.

The prescription? Bring it up and bring it out into the open. You
can't bring out what you don't bring up. Do it for your body's sake;
for your mind's sake; for your soul's sake.

Bring it up and bring it out. You may be surprised that others are
quicker to understand your misdeed than you are even to admit it! And
at least when you get it off your chest, you'll have one less burden
to carry as you make amends!

-- Steve Goodier

NOTE: There is so much truth in this article that I feel it can do a lot of good.  An important reminder, however, is to be careful who you confess your faults to!  You may be needing to unload your secrets onto another, but if you should  later hear that someone passed on your 'secrets,' your problems can multiply.  It is wise to seek counsel with your pastor, or your closest, tried and true friend.  One would hope that you had cried on the Lord first of all, and p0ured out your soul to Him.