Justification

Justification does not replace confession.

Justification is pretty much an admission that you think your wrong doing is ok, or should be forgiven, because of your justification.

Saying "I did that because" is called an excuse. It doesn't matter what kind of excuse you make, it doesn't take the place of confessing what you did.

God calls us to confess our sins, not make excuses for them.

So you say, "Well, you know, I knew that cheating on my spouse was wrong, but he/she is so mean they drove me away. I had no choice." But you know what, that's only an excuse to justify your sin.

You may have confessed by admitting you did it, but then you tried to justify your sin.

There is no justification in sin, it's wrong no matter what the reason.

Look what happened to Adam and Eve. They were given specific instructions. They knew right from wrong. But Eve let the serpent tempt her. Adam let Eve tempt her. Their excuse? Blame it on the serpent, blame it on Eve. No "I'm sorry that I was weak, that it was my fault for giving in." Now I'm not saying that God would have forgiven them if they had just confessed without justification, but what if he had? Where would we be now? 

There is no excuse for sin, for doing the wrong thing. We all do it, every day.

Some things we may slip on, not realize we are doing it till after its done. That's when we say, "I didn't realize, I was caught up doing ____." When all we should say is, "I did that, I did wrong, forgive me."

Some things we know we do on purpose. I will give you some examples of my own that I have done and some I do still:

1) I had relationships with quite a few married men in my past (not anymore). I knew it was wrong, but what was my justification? No one else wanted me and they treated me 100% better than single guys did because they had to try harder to win me over (which sadly was true).

2) Pornography - Justification, as long as I was watching it I wasn't out cheating, and then it became imagining myself and my mate doing those things and not really seeing the "actors".

3) Pre-Marital sex.....so many justifications here! Everyone else does it. How will you know if you are truly compatible if you don't? No one will want me if I don't (sad, but true). I love him so much it's ok. (Please note that my child was conceived in sin, but I make NO excuses or try to justify what I did with him. It was wrong, I admit it and confess it, but the beauty for ashes was my daughter)

4) Cursing is a bad one for me that I still struggle with. Justification - "I'm sorry, God, you know I didn't mean it, I just get so mad and frustrated and it comes out before I can stop."

So now that I've confessed my big sins, let's analyze them.

Obviously all of them are horrible sins. There should be no justification for them whatsoever. No amount of reasoning, excuses, justification, can make anyone's sins acceptable, including mine. Instead of excuses, I should have just stopped and admitted what I did was wrong and asked, begged for forgiveness.

Once you ask for forgiveness, that doesn't mean you can do it again, either. I ask for forgiveness after the first affair, then go do it again, that doesn't excuse me from the next one too! When you know it's wrong, you quit.

Now, I'll admit, I still struggle with #2, and I wish I could justify it away, but I know I can't.

#3 I continue to do daily, even though I know it's wrong. After 8 years with the same person, it is hard to stop. But I can guarantee you that if this fall's apart, the next one isn't getting anything until I walk the isle, because that's the way it should be. (Notice my justification there?)

#4 is even worse, because when I get real upset or angry, or frustrated, I am like someone with Tourette syndrome, it pours out of me uncontrollably. Sometimes I can catch myself and say God Bless It, or Heavens to Betsy, or even use the words off of Sci-fi shows where they make up their own curse words, like Frack (from Battlestar Galactica). But nine times out of ten, I can't catch myself and it comes rolling out.

This is where intervention steps in.

Sometimes you have to admit you need help. Do not be ashamed to admit it. It is nothing to be ashamed about. With my anger and anxiety issues, I need to be taking a medication. I was tested to see which one would work best for me (and I was already taking it) so that is what helped me tremendously.

That said, I ran out of refills and my doctor moved too far away. I haven't had any pills in over two months, and it is showing. #4 is the worst, with every other word coming out a curse word when I get upset or agitated.

Now, technically this is not a justification, but a factual statement. A chemical imbalance in your body is something that can not be blamed on you, you didn't create it or make yourself have it, thus the reason you need to get help if you have a problem.

No, my justification in this situation is not going to the doctor. I don't go because 1)My doc moved too far away to drive to on a regular basis and 2) It is very hard to get an antidepressant from a doctor who doesn't know you or your history very well, thanks to all the drug abusers out there.

Instead of trying to justify why I won't go to the doctor, which would in essence almost eliminate #4, I should just go. I should just do it.

Now that we've covered quite a few different kinds of sins and justifications, lets get to you.

Take a look at your life. How many things do you justify on a daily basis? Don't lie, everyone sins. Greed, gluttony, lust, envy....bet you do one of those four every day, at least. Watching tv and saying, "Man that guy/girl is hot!" Or indulging in that extra piece of cake at the party (guilty!) Or how about seeing someone new car, house, or yes, even a new baby, and being envious  of what they have that you don't.

Think about those, then think about your excuses, your justifications. If you have to, keep a notebook of things you do and your justifications you use for them.

Do you see areas of your life you could work on? Are you things you can let go? Can you admit what you have done, or are doing, and ask for forgiveness without justification? And can you quit? Do you need help? Do you need a support group?

I admitted it, now can you?