Spilling my guts

I have no doubt in my mind that confession is essential for salvation (read healing).

A biblical injunction. In Leviticus, when a guilty person goes to the priest to have his sins atoned, he must first 'confess in what way he has sinned.' John the Baptist insisted on his baptismees publicly repenting of their sins before going under. James tells us to 'confess.. that we may be healed.'

This is surgical therapy at its best.

Confession is like an incision that gives access to the surgeon to get at the vicious tumor of guilt and shame. God's scalpel of deliverance radically excises whatever bitter roots that lurk within. Before it erodes into our joy, spontaneity and freedom to be.

The simple act of spilling guts flings wide open the floodgates of God's forgiveness and acceptance, secured already by His atoning sacrifice on the Cross. I have far more to gain acknowledging my shameful deeds than live in the tragic imprisonment of false righteousness.