ManageYourEmotionsBook8.5x5.5_RevJULY.indd

12 The Necessity of Conviction (a.k.a. Good Guilt) “When I kept silent about my sin, my body wasted away” (Psalm 32:3).

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I heard a story about a man who sent this note to the Internal Revenue Service: Dear Sirs: Enclosed, find a check for $2,500. I’ve cheated on my income tax return the last two years, failing to pay the full amount. If I continue to feel guilty and miss sleep, I will send the remainder of what I owe. Like that guy, we often avoid making full restitution for our mistakes. Modeling Adam and Eve, we’re prone to hide out, live in shame, and blame someone else rather than own and confess our sins.We erode spiritually, and sometimes physically, ignoring the escape hatch that God provides. Take for example David and his sexual misconduct. “For the best part of a year,” after committing adultery and murder, “David put up a bold front and tried to brazen it, haunted at night, haughty by day.” 84

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