There is a trend I have noticed in many of these chapters through Ezra and Nehemiah of sin confession occurring in large groups or led by one of the priests. If you know anything about the history of the Hebrew people, the idea of them needing to confess won't be a shock. God is constantly doing amazing things for the Jews and they regularly turn away only to have God show his love and faithfulness. When I was reading Nehemiah 9, it seemed like the same sort of section... God showed his faithfulness and blessing to the people of Israel and they responded by confessing their sins.
Have you ever read something a thousand times and on that thousand-and-first time you saw something different? As I was reading through this beautiful prayer given by the people of Israel, something dawned upon me: the confessions of Israel fully acknowledge their own sin and faults without caveat, excuse, or even legitimate explanation. There is no allowance made for why they sinned, the fact that some may have sinned worse than others, or that some may still be bent towards their old sinful ways. It is a completely unapologetic confession that all the nation of Israel stands united in their understanding that they have turned from God and wish to turn back towards his good graces.
Let's compare that to any given day on Facebook or elsewhere on the TV. How often do we see an apology or confession that is tainted with footnotes explaining that there really was some legitimate reason for screwing up. How frequent is it to see an apology that is followed up by some statement like "It's just so hard to avoid [insert sin] when you [insert hard life circumstance or situation]." Or how about "I know that it's so common for other people to [insert sin that I just did] but I know I have to do better." See, in both cases the confession is couched in some sort of anchor that somewhat alleviates personal responsibility. To an extent I think this is very cultural for many in the western world and almost expected by secular society.
There is this book by a guy named Jocko Willink who describes how Navy SEALS function as a team. A part of how they function is being totally open, honest, and unapologetic about the things they screwed up; a concept they call "extreme ownership". An apology isn't an explanation or a chance to save face; it's just admitting what was done wrong so the error is in the open and is less likely to happen again.
I think all churches could benefit more from this type of mentality. When a mistake is made, don't make excuses. "Yep, I messed up". It's that simple (simple, but not necessarily easy). When we don't hold anything back, there's nothing of the error left to fester and become divisive. This applies to our relationships with one another and our relationship with God. Let's try to fight that urge to make excuses when we know we've erred and approach confession on all matters, big and small, with the same attitude we see in Nehemiah 9. Hopefully then, even our confessions will seem different from the rest of mainstream society and maybe just witness to others around us in a new and unconventional way.
DAILY PRAYER A Prayer for Pure Religion
Blessed be your glorious name, and may it be exalted above all blessing and praise. You alone are the Lord. You made the heavens, even the highest heavens, and all their starry host, the earth and all that is on it, the seas and all that is in them. You give life to everything, and the multitudes of heaven worship you. (Nehemiah 9:5b-6)
Thank you for all the things we take for granted and all the things we can clearly see you doing in the life of our church and our lives individually. When we make mistakes that offend one another, help us to approach those situations with extreme ownership, fully acknowledging our wrongdoing where necessary and making no excuse for our actions. When we have been offended, give us the patience and grace to accept apologies when offered, understanding how difficult the journey to reconciliation can be for so many. Even in our confessions, help us to act in a way that reflects someone with a zealous desire to get closer to you. We love you and thank you for all the blessings you bring us each and every day. Amen.
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