I am not a fan of Joyce Meyer but this quote is a good one.
“Whatever your sin of failure, you need to confess it to God and then let it go. Stop punishing yourself for something that is in the past. Refuse to remember something God has chosen to forget.”
I think there has to be a balance with this. I have been on the side where I tend to punish and shame myself for the stupid thing I just did. I act as if the only way to make things right is to punish myself until I feel like the penalty has been paid.
But I can also swing to the other side and not even really feel guilt for the sin I just committed. I accept that I sinned, know that Jesus’ blood covers it and then move on. This is not an entirely wrong approach but I can end up making light of my sin because it has already been forgiven.
So what is the balance between penance and acceptance?
Confession paired with grace.
We are called to confess our sins. We do this not to punish ourselves but to seek reconciliation to repair the relationship. We must recognize the weight of our trespasses against a Holy God.
But this must be paired with grace that reminds us that even though we are sinners worthy of death, Christ has freed us from that penalty and has given us life.