Who doesn’t want to be a happy Christian? I think everyone in the church desires to be one. It is great to be a cheerful child of God. But how do you get there? Surely you should not talk too long or too often about sin, should you? That quickly puts a damper on your life; it will make you depressed.

Still, that is what this article must be about – Complaining about your own sins. You may ask, “Is that really necessary? Does that make you more cheerful?” I propose that it is only in that way that you can become happy. I’ll support that thesis later in this article.

Lamentations⤒🔗

People do a lot of complaining, even in the church. It is striking that most of the time we complain about our distress. We moan about what has happened to us – that we got sick, we lost our job, or that we have financial problems. Or we grumble about those who have done something to us. But it does not happen too often that we accuse ourselves. 

This is also how it often goes in the book of Lamentations. It is a book full of disappointments, disillusionment and sorrow. It is a single song of sorrow about the fall of Jerusalem and the destruction of the temple.

Is that all we can say about it? No, they do occasionally acknowledge their fault. The consciousness of guilt is not absent, but you have to look for it. The portrayal of a state of emergency marks the atmosphere of this Bible book.

The cause of all hunger and distress←⤒🔗

Where did the misery start? How could that beautiful temple of Solomon fall prey to enemy fire? During and after the exile God’s people understood that better. The people began to recognize that they had to find fault in themselves. Daniel once made himself the interpreter of his people and confessed that guilt extensively. You can read that in the touching prayer in Daniel 9, with words like: “for our sins ... Jerusalem and your people have become a byword among all who are around us” (verse 16).

They prayed in the same way later, when the exiles were ‘home’ again and Ezra took on the spiritual leadership of Judah. In Nehemiah 9 we read about a day of humility, in which extensive penitence was done for all the wrong that caused the exile .To quote as an example, verse 33: “Yet you have been righteous in all that has come upon us, for you have dealt faithfully and we have acted wickedly.” God is always right when he punishes people. We have to grieve more about ourselves.

The book of Lamentations tells us that. For though the notion of their own guilt still has to deepen, in chapter 3:39 we read, “Why should a living man complain, a man, about the punishment of his sins?” There the writer really goes back to the source. Sin is the most profound cause of all misery. As yet, the source within us is still full of poison (see art. 15 of the Belgic Confession). Of course, the Spirit is hard at work purifying our lives. But on this earth, that poison will keep flowing our whole life long.

Consciousness of sins←⤒🔗

By grace, we as God’s children are not always mired in sin. We can also experience good times. But maybe then it is more difficult to notice our sinfulness. As far as that goes, modern society is against us, too. Many Western countries no longer accept the idea that a personal God is above all and everything. That does not mean that there is no longer a moral code. Everyone recognizes that people make mistakes and that you can wrong a fellow human being and that you can even commit a crime against humanity.

But what makes all evil sin is seen so little nowadays. Society feels that if you commit adultery, it only hurts your spouse. And murder, too, is bad for the victim and their loved ones, but something spiritual cannot be said about it. Modern man thinks very horizontally. But David says in Psalm 51, “Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight” (verse 4).

You do not realize the seriousness of your sins if you cannot say that. Whatever evil we do, we do it against God. God is personally bothered by all our sins. Sin is always a slap in his face, a violation of his majesty. (See answer 11 of the Heidelberg Catechism.)

Consider your sins←⤒🔗

If God takes our sins so seriously, then we may not be quickly finished with it. It is good to sit and reflect on our sin. In the form for the celebration of the Lord’s Supper, the part about self-examination begins as follows: “In order that we may now celebrate this holy supper … we must first rightly examine ourselves.” That means we ought to think good and hard about it.

We are sometimes rather easy and shallow in our confession of guilt and in asking for forgiveness. Consider Judges 10:10-16. There Israel cried for help from the Lord and at the same time confessed their sins. But that confession had become ritualized and routine. Therefore God refused to help them. First their prayer had to become sincere. The people had to “rend their hearts and not their garments”, the prophet Joel later said (2:13).

That is what we have to take to heart. Sometimes we can be jubilant but without our gladness having real roots. If you take things easy and find “sin” a difficult word, then James says in his fourth chapter: “Be wretched and mourn and weep. Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom.” (v.9)

Our joy in life can be shallow. You can only really laugh if you have also learned to cry.

Sorrowful←⤒🔗

David was broken hearted when he realized his misdeeds (Psalm 51). Then he realized how much grief he had caused the Lord. That is also important for our repentance. If you have gone your own way and you then return to God, then that does not go without “heartfelt sorrow that we have offended God by our sin” (Lord’s Day 33 of the Heidelberg Catechism). Cry to start anew. It does not have to be real crying, although that is certainly acceptable. 

I think of the sinner in Luke 7, who wet the feet of our Saviour with her hair. Crying, she came up to Jesus. She was ashamed that she had lived such a life of sin. But she was also very happy that she could go to Jesus for the complete forgiveness of all her sins. She cried because of sadness and happiness at the same time.

For her, too, the Lord Jesus would suffer and die. Through the weight of his suffering we can measure the seriousness of our sinfulness. But thankfully he could ultimately say: “It is finished!” Precisely for that reason there is hope for us. 

Joy forever←⤒🔗

After Good Friday came Easter. In Christ, life achieved victory. And we with Christ. That is why the Heidelberg Catechism says this about the resurrection of the new man: “It is a heartfelt joy in God through Christ” (Lord’s Day 33). Gladness rises above everything. But you can only experience the joy of grace if you have seen your sins; if your path of life has gone by way of Golgotha. Then you can laugh through your tears (compare Psalm 126).

So hopefully the thesis at the beginning is explained. Of course, sadness remains the undertone of our life. Consider the celebration of the Lord’s Supper. But fortunately the gladness that may begin on earth already has the final word. On the new earth sin will be completely vanquished, and all sorrow will be turned into song.