As I am fathering a son now, I see a big difference between him and my daughter. He's more active, likes to climb, likes to put everything in his mouth, dangerously brave, and is always seeking out adventures.
It makes me reflect on how my mom raised two boys. How does she disciple and teach them God's truth in boy-language? "Poop," of course! It was incredibly effective because it still sticks to me to this day and I shall pass it on to my son.
Mom's Analogy:
Sin is like poop. If you poop on the carpet, mom and dad are going to find it and you will get in trouble. Trying to hid it by moving the poop under the rug may be a solution! No one will see it so you are off the hook. However, it is only a temporary solution. At some point, they will notice the smell because the smell cannot be concealed or contained. You will be caught. The only way to fix the problem is to tell mom and dad and ask them to clean it up, then don't do it again. (For the record, no, neither one of us ever pooped on the carpet.)
Sin is like poop. When I sin, God will see, and I will get in trouble. Trying to hide it won't work-- Adam and Eve tried. The only way to fix the problem is to confess it, and allow Jesus to come clean up my sins, and don't do it again. I remember being embarrassed and uncomfortable by this analogy and told my mom, "But I don't want Jesus to touch my poop." HAhaha! Little Sam, I think Peter felt the same way: "Peter said to [Jesus], 'You shall never wash my feet.'" (John 13:8).
The lesson was from James 5:15-16, "... And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven. 16 Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working."
Now that I am a pastor with formal theological training, how would I teach this simple concept to my children? With a more sophisticated poop analogy, of course!
My Analogy:
Unconfessed sin is like poop. In this body, we poop. Although it is embarrassing to talk about, it happens. Everyone poops. It's a part of this flesh and nature. If you need to go but you hold it because you're at a party, the poop doesn't go away. The "urge to purge" might go away, but the poop is still inside of you. Keeping it in there will become toxic. It continues to build and get backed up until you are so full of it that it starts to fill up your whole inside. You get sick from it and go into septic shock. If you still do nothing about it, you can and will literally die.
Unconfessed sin is like poop. In this body, we sin. Although it is embarrassing to talk about, sin happens. Everyone sins. It's a part of this flesh and nature-- we pray and long for the day when we are given a body that is not corrupt to sin. Keeping sin in may hide it from others, but it eats away at you. You get sick from it and the Bible promises that the wages of sin is death (Romans 6:23). The best part is the latter part of that verse,
"For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord."
After sinning, it is best not to hold it in, but we "let it out" in confession. It may cause us great embarrassment to let others know of our sin, but it is better than keeping that sin hidden where it will rot and decay.
God, our good Father, is happy to help us clean up our mess. Although I may cough and hold my breath when I clean my children when they poop, I never disown them. The older they are, the more they should know better. This may mean discipline, but never disowned. I may be upset, but I will always clean up after them. All they need to do is let me know.
This is how the church ought to function as well. When we "confess our sins to one another," it is a messy, stinky, and embarrassing process. But we humbly allow each other to do so for each other's healing. It is always an unpleasant experience, but a much needed step towards being healthy.
"Such a vile and gross analogy, Pastor Sam. Could you use something a little cleaner and proper?"
I agree. I've often wondered why my mom didn't pick a less-gross example. Looking back, I am grateful she used that example. In fact, poop is not a strong enough example to use to compare with sin. Pooping isn't sinful. It is a natural result of consuming food, something that is a must to survive. Sin, on the other hand, isn't a "natural process"-- it is a direct rebellion against a holy God. Still, God chooses to pay the hefty price to come down and "clean" such a vile generation.
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