Don't focus on the symptom

“Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed.”

If I confess a sin it's because I have recognized that something I have been doing is incorrect and unhealthy. Something that is damaging to myself and/or others. For some people, especially in Christianity, it may be common to confess unhealthy actions that we have performed. Examples like, "I have been impatient and angry toward my spouse and my kids. I’ve been watching porn. I've been getting drunk. I use more prescription pills than I probably should."

We are taught to confess unhealthy things and then pray so that we may be healed. Yet, it seems that for some of us, the same issues keep occurring. We are left wondering when “the healing” is going to happen. When will these unhealthy things in my life cease?

Perhaps we should try to go a little deeper. Maybe what we are confessing isn’t really “the sin”. Which would explain why we don’t seem to “be healed”. Maybe “the sin” is deeper, and we haven't recognized it yet. It's easy to recognize some sins, like anger or lust; but what about the deeper issues within us that caused the anger or lust. How well do we recognize the sin behind the sin?

If I'm noticing impatience, anger, alcohol abuse or lust, these are only signs of a deeper issue. Deeper unhealthy beliefs are the beginning, and the cause of, our surface level, externally obvious sins. Confessing the obvious sins each time I experience them, but not inspecting why I did it, is like stopping to put air in my tire that keeps going flat. Yet, never taking the time to search for the cause of the leak.

Deep inside of us we have issues, traumas, and beliefs of loneliness, abandonment, rejection, etc. These deeper issues are some of the causes behind most of our externally obvious sins. These deeper issues reside in the deep dark cave of our subconscious. To discover them we need light; but we can only shine light into a dark cave if we are willing to go down there with the light. Likewise, I can't recognize or confess something that I can't see.

So we find ourselves in a cycle. We are stuck in a loop of confessing only the surface level “sins” that we can see. Ignoring the issues that lay deeper within us. Only to find that, in time, we commit the same unhealthy behaviors all over again.

Referring back to the tire analogy: For some reason our tire keeps going flat, but we don't want to try and discover why. Instead we just add some more air and see how long it will last this time.

If I am vomiting, it's a sign. It's not enjoyable; but it's beneficial in letting me know that there is a deeper problem that needs to be dealt with. Vomiting is a symptom and a sign that there is a deeper, unseen sickness. Likewise our performance of any "sin" is actually just a symtom, like vomiting.

I can confess that I threw up. I can apologize and offer to clean it up. But that doesn't stop it from happening again. Nor will it remove the sickness that is causing the vomiting. I need to take steps to discover why I am showing symptoms. Perhaps it's a flu, maybe it's covid, maybe a head injury, or even cancer. The main problem isn't the symptom, the vomit; but the sickness causing the symptom.

How ridiculous would it be for your child to continue coming to you, sad, guilt ridden and ashamed, saying "I threw up again. I'm really sorry. I don't know why I keep doing that. Please forgive me. I don't ever want to do that again." Yet your child refuses to talk to you about why they may be vomiting. They refuse to get checked, saying they will be fine and then they go on their way.

Yet, this is what we do with God, and with people in our lives. We commit “sins”, we vomit, then we either try to hide it, or confess it. We feel guilty, we are ashamed. Mainly because we don't recognize our acts of "sins" for what they really are. They are symptoms of a deeper, unseen sickness. In order to stop the symptoms, our acts of sins that are damaging to ourselves and others, we must take time to discover the specific sickness.

Head trauma can cause vomiting. So can Covid, the flu, and many other illnesses. The treatment for each specific virus, or illness is different. So it's important to discover why you have your symptoms, and to get the correct treatment.

I would encourage you to start looking deeper. Each time you recognize the surface level "sins", like worry, anger, gossip, lust, etc., think of them as symptoms. Then begin to ask yourself, and ask God, what is the deeper sickness behind my symptoms? What is causing the symptoms that I see today?

If you will be determined and seek for answers, you will find them. If you will ask God, and others, for help in performing a diagnosis and finding the correct treatment, it will be given. Wouldn't it be wonderful to be able to finally recognize the culprit; the specific virus that keeps causing your symptoms? Wouldn’t it be amazing to actually be healed?

If we will let ourselves look deeper, behind the obvious external "sins", the symptoms, we will begin to discover the actual sickness behind our symptoms. The SIN behind the “sins”. As we recognize the actual SIN, the sickness, we can confess it and start being healed from the real problems.

Many people find themselves unaware of how to discover the sickness behind their symptoms. Step one, recognize that there are deeper reasons as to why you have continual “sins”; symptoms. Then go to your Father, go to God. Admit that you’ve been vomiting and that you think it’s time to find out why. Ask Him to lead you as you start searching for the answers and the correct treatment. Then start searching. Talk to people you trust about your new search.

Sometimes dreams, or flashback memories will occur which stir up past, or recent hurts; and other issues. Don’t ignore these, or shove them back into the darkness of your subconscious. Paying attention to these things is like paying attention when you see the nail in your tire. It’s your chance to notice part of the problem, and then to deal with it. Don’t just drive on. Admit what you see, feel, and believe about the memory or dream. Confess it to God, and maybe someone else. Then pray for that issue, memory, etc., to be healed.

A quote by Carl Jung says, "Until you make the unconscious conscious, it will direct your life and you will call it fate."

In order to fully heal; to change and to stop the cycle of unhealthy actions and decisions in our lives, we have to become aware of the deeper subconscious issues. We can't confess, pray and be healed from something that we won't allow our consciousness to be aware of.

In Proverbs 23:7 it says, "For as he (a person) thinks in his heart, [believes in their subconscious] so is he."

It's probably safe to say that if we see ourselves performing "sins", if we notice unhealthy symptoms, then there must be an unhealthy belief hidden in our hearts. Traumas, unhealthy experiences, hurts, fears, and pain, have created these unhealthy, subconscious beliefs in our hearts. These beliefs in our hearts are causing us to have unhealthy symptoms; to perfom "sins". If we can find the unhealthy beliefs in our hearts, then we can confess them and be healed.

Know this. You are not the symptoms that you struggle with. You are a beautiful, amazing, valuable child of God. You are good. Your "sins", symptoms, don't define who you are, they are only signs that you have been injured, hurt, and infected; and you need to be healed. You deserve to be healed. You deserve to be loved and restored. You can be healed. You can be whole. Keep believing. Keep asking, keep searching. Let God, and others help you.