The Jerry Springer Confession Booth

What makes Jerry Springer and shows alike so addicting to watch? Given that I tend to get tired of the same old idea of “Why I want to sleep with my brother’s boyfriend’s little brother in his father’s house” kind of titles. However, sometimes I find myself sticking on the channel a little longer than usual. There is a reason why shows like this are still running on TV. We’ve seen the titles like “I have a secret to tell” and most likely some kind of information will be revealed on the show that will send chairs flying or clothes stripped.

Jerry Springer is like a modern confession booth. People come on the show to share their mistakes, mess-ups and ungodly desires to their loved ones and to the hormonal depressed crazed television viewer. Unfortunately, like most sacred acts our culture as distorted this one too.

Confession is important in all of our lives. It unveils what we long to hide and it gives us power to overcome it. Confession heals. Confession is truth. It shows people who we really are and only in the rawness of truthful reality do we have any chance in improving or being content. By confessing our sins to one another we admit our weaknesses and we accept each other despite how fallible we are. There is something beautiful about confession. It is so difficult to blurt it out, but when you finally do a burden unbearable is finally released. This is why Christians are commanded to confess their sins to one another.

So here we have confession no longer being a sacred act of reconciliation but fuel to despise others (which makes us feel better) and entertainment. When the redhead on Jerry Springer announces to the audience that she has been sleeping with her step-son a sense of relief flows through us because she is a perfect example of how we are ‘not that bad.’ Confession was never meant to be entertainment nor was it meant to be hurtful. Confession is a means of recovery and reconciliation. We don’t even need someone to confess anymore. We will confess for them. Whether it is our gossip of someone we know who got pregnant or a tabloid in the grocery store aisle.

No wonder people (Christians especially) are so afraid of confessing their sins to one another. Confession doesn’t mean the same thing anymore. If someone tells us that they struggle with homosexual tendencies. Our first reaction isn’t a sense of love or caring. It is usually a sense of disgust or gossip. Why would I want to share my sin and weakness with a people who know nothing of true confession and will only exploit me? We are entertained by confession. We are relieved by confession because when other people share weakness it means ours are harder to see.

We need to realize that confession, especially when someone confesses something to you, means we are sharing in a remarkable event that is sanctioned by Jesus Christ. It doesn’t give us grounds to judge or point the finger but it opens up a hurting life so you can love them. It’s time that we bring confession back to become about humans understanding their depravity and depending on the strength of Christ as opposed to humans sucking each other dry for the next bit of gossip that will only make us feel better.