Did your spirituality improve after confessing to wrongdoing?

jwfacts

I was reading this thread, http://www.jehovahs-witness.net/members/private/220730/1/Had-my-JC-today-oh-sugar, and Morbidzbaby mentioned their husband confessed to uncleaness because he did not feel he was getting blessed by Jehovah. However, blessings did not increase after the confession.

It made me wonder about the whole idea of confessing so that you do not loose Jehovah's blessing.

When I was in Bethel I confessed about a couple of menial things. The way it was handled was attrocious. The things that I felt I had the wrong attitude about they dismissed, saying that Jehovah's blessing was with me as I was accepted to bethel afterwards. Yet another thing that was not at all my fault they blamed on me. It was around this time that I came to the conclusion that the whole thing was a joke, and holy spirit had nothing to do with the proceedings or anything else that happened at Bethel.

Did anyone fall for the guilt trip of confession, and did they find any difference in their lives after to the confession?

finally awake

my husband would have a lot to say about this topic. I don't feel like I should share his personal story for him, but I will direct his attention to this thread.

Iamallcool

good topic! (bookmarking)

tec

I felt release from guilt when I confessed. Freedom and peace. But I confess to God; not to a group of men who don't have the authority that they think they have.

Might make a bit of a difference ;)

Peace,

Tammy

jwfacts

Tec, good point. Confession to god is a totally different experience than being grilled by a couple of older men, wanting graphic detail about indiscretion.

A second time that I confessed was after I no longer believed, and did quite a bit that I could be disfellowshipped for on an overseas holiday. I came back and must have believed a bit as for some crazy reason I decided to tell the elders everything. Whilst in the meeting they decided I was repentant. I sat their thinking what a joke, as I did not really believe and was just saying what they wanted to hear.

Knowsnothing

Nope. At first it seemed like it did. Confessed yet eventually kept doing it. I also begged and pleaded to God to get the thought out of my head, but that actually only made me obsess worse about it.

DesirousOfChange

I think an impovement in one's spirituality after a confession depends on 2 things.

1) The placebo effect. If the confessor mentally believes that it will improve, then it very well may improve, at least in their own feeling. Confession cleanses the soul.

2) The way things are handled by the elders on the JC. If the entire matter is handled correctly, mercy shown for repentance (assuming a confession = repentance), then the person will again leave feeling good about themselves and the Arrangement and have a good likelihood of experiencing #1 -- the placebo effect.

DOC

blondie

Never confessed....not guilty of what I was accused of...and proved it to their frustration, no apology though. My spirituality did not improve; but I got a good look at how "God's" justice works. It was the start of my wake up call.

Quentin

No, things between myself and jw's only got worse. Guess I had to go through the process in order to wake up to the unloving, vindictive, cold hearted spirituality of the wtbts.

Fernando

Also agree with tec.

Religion/ists (being physical, carnal, natural, temporal) is/are spiritually blind. As such it/they misconstrue almost everything, especially in this instance confession and repentance.

Confessing to religionists is actually insane since they are under the power of the "god of religion". They have no relationship with the "god of Abraham". They may know some facts about him, but they do not know him personally, and prevent others from knowing him and his son in an intimate relationship.

In general spirituality improves once God grants repentance (awareness of dysfunction) and faith (a wide opening of our spiritual eyes) after we have a favourable heart response to a hearing (or a pursuit) of the "good news ABOUT Jesus" which includes forgiveness of all our sins past, present and future as an unmerited free gift which deletes fear, guilt, embarassment and the legal power of sin or dysfunction in our lives (Rom 10:16,17).

Did your spirituality improve after confessing to wrongdoing?

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