Putting the Soul
back in Psychology!
Dr. of the Church St. Augustine of Hippo: "And, indeed, this is already sin, to desire those things which the law of God forbids, and to abstain from them through fear of punishment, not through love of righteousness."
To desire is "to want".
This is why the primary and most important way that we need to be sorry for our sins, is for "wanting them".
We can and do sin in all of the following ways: attractions, likes, dislikes, wants/desires, expectations, beliefs, thoughts, feelings, words, deeds, and what we fail to properly: be attracted to, like, dislike, want/desire, expect, believe, think, feel, say, and do.
This is why when people say, "I don't sin", or "I don't have any sins to confess", they are simply ignorant of what a sin is. And failure to be able to recogize our own sins is a grave problem, because it means we are not asking Jesus daily to show us and teach us what they are, because we don't want to know.
If we are not completely sorry for wanting any particular sin in regard to our: attractions, likes, dislikes, wants/desires, expectations, beliefs, thoughts, feelings, words, deeds, and what we fail to properly: be attracted to, like, dislike, want/desire, expect, believe, think, feel, say, and do...then we will be blocking God's grace to be healed of that particular sin and we will not be able to stop the sin.
Then I hear, "but I DON'T want to sin." As this may be true, unfortunately, we are so lacking in self-awareness that simply because we consciously don't want to sin in general or even in a particular way, does not negate the fact that we have all kinds of false beliefs about the particular interior or exterior "bad behavior" that prove that we want it. In addition, a sin is defined by it being chosen by our free will, and we only choose what we want, to some degree in some way, shape, or form.
As long as we keep rationalizing that we "don't want" the sin that we want to stop, then we are never going to be able to stop that sin, because we are lying to ourselves and to God.
Examples:
Not sincerely sorry to God for not wanting to pray, you won't be able to pray.
Not sincerely sorry to God for not wanting to forgive, you won't be able to forgive.
Not sincerely sorry to God for not wanting to be patient, you won't be able to be patient.
Not sincerely sorry to God for wanting to drink too much, you won't be able to stop/be healed.
Not sincerely sorry to God for wanting to overeat, you won't be able to stop/be healed.
Not sincerely sorry to God for wanting to be attracted to the same gender, you won't be able to stop/be healed.
Not sincerely sorry to God for not wanting to be attracted to the opposite gender, you won't be able to start/be healed.
Not sincerely sorry to God for wanting to be angry, you won't be able to stop/be healed.
Not sincerely sorry to God for wanting to swear, you won't be able to stop/be healed.
Not sincerely sorry to God for wanting to watch bad media, you wont' be able to stop/be healed.
Not sincerely sorry to God for not wanting to trust in God, you won't be able to start/be healed.
Not sincerely sorry to God for not wanting to be kind/charitable, you won't be able to start/be healed.
Start asking Jesus Christ daily to feel His Love for you!
God Loves you no matter what!
