“Therefore, confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective.” James 5:16

Do you have a close enough relationship with the friends in our youth group that you could confess your sins to them? Would you trust them to treat your confession the right way? To keep it in confidence? To keep from judging you, but to instead lovingly help you deal with your sin? Would they do the same for you?

When James was writing to his audience, the Christ-followers in Jerusalem, they were an extremely close-knit group! They were meeting in people’s homes, and a small minority. The Book of Acts describes their fellowship as an intimate, personal group who were with each other constantly. In this context, confession of sin takes on something a little different than it can in a group that is not so close.

The early Christ-followers’ lives were so entwined with each other, they probably would know each other’s shortcomings before they even had to confess them. And they were compassionately concerned about each other. So they would seemingly have met their brother or sisters’ sin with grace and a spirit of help. Does this sound like you and your friends? If it does, awesome. If it doesn’t, it can. You can become closer spiritually. It is how God intends for us to interact.

As you continue this week in our challenge to only say things that build others up, we urge you to take steps in growing your relationships with one another.