What is the one thing you have done
that nobody else can ever know about?
Gulp. The mere thought inspires a hard swallow and a
pounding heart. Rest at ease. There are now quick and convenient, anonymous and
even aesthetic ways to deal with those nagging sins of yours: cyberspace
confessions. Think of an online confessional booth as an electronic
Post-it-Note. Those ever-present Post-its have brought a sticky, yellow-pad
revolution to the absent-minded office worker. What might Post-a-Sin do for the
busy and guilt-laden pilgrim in need of conscience cleansing? Have some
slip-ups to shake loose and cannot make it down to the parish priest? No
problem. Just have them absolved by posting them online at an e-confessional.
You are just a few keystrokes away from a clean slate.
What if you
are more of the artsy type who needs to get something off your chest? Again,
cyber-reality has a perfect solution for you. There is a Web site where you can
submit a postcard-sized artistic rendering of your transgressions. Just include
a statement of the issue that you need to reveal — and by all means — you must
keep it anonymous. Then these ownerless mail-in confessions are posted on the
site so others can read your acknowledgment and admire the way you
aesthetically captured it. A comment from a regular of the site reads: “I love
this Web site … makes me feel everything I’ve done is closer to human. I wish
they would expand and update more often then once a week. I look forward to the
new postings as they open up my eyes each time.”
What a
voyeuristic bonus! Would you like to hear some confessions?
• I removed the book jackets from trashy novels so that I look more
sophisticated.
• If something is hard, I give up and have a snack.
• I wish my daughter loved me.
• I was once so lonely that I mailed a letter to myself telling me I was
great and signed it from Johnny Depp.
The rest of the world can get online and
appreciate the splendor of your sinful actions. And consider the therapeutic
benefits here. Others can go look at the hideousness of what you confessed and
instantly feel better about their own minor mishaps and peccadilloes. Who needs a priest or a time of
prayer anymore? And why bother with an expensive therapist to improve
self-esteem? No need to visit the local art gallery. We can get all of those
needs met in one place. Anonymous, artistic, confessional and voyeuristic.
Oh, this is brilliant.
It is no
wonder that reality television dominates the Nielsen ratings. We love to wallow
in other people’s garbage. It entertains us. It shocks us. It makes us feel
better about ourselves. So why not bring the same benefits to confession?
Quick. Easy. And tasty as well.
Confession of
sin is important, of course, and we must not make light of it. One writer used this analogy.
The areas of sin in my life are very
much like the termites in my house. The sin was there when I came to Christ , but it was hidden. I looked okay on the outside, and
no one would have thought I had a problem with sin. Even I didn’t recognize it.
Just like my house passed its inspection a year ago, the people who knew me
thought I was a pretty good person — and
I suppose by outward standards I was. But deep down in my soul, little bits of
sin were there, gnawing away at me. One tiny termite doesn’t eat very much.
Unless you leave it alone for a while, and it invites friends. Then it will
destroy your house. My “little” sins were acting just the same.
Now that I am over being upset about
the termites, I am actually glad that we found them. If they had not broken to
the surface, we would not have known to call the exterminator. They would have
just kept eating away until our house fell completely apart. It’s just the same
with sin.[1]
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