Confession is Good for the Soul and for the Friendship
If you have friends, you communicate with them. You talk, you text, you get together. Communication allows that there will also be miscommunication. There are a myriad of books, personality tests and seminars available to help us communicate, whether it be with our co-workers, our spouses, our families and our friends. Even with all that is available, we still miscommunicate; we fudge; we mess up.
Being able to confess our sin and be honest is an essential part of being a good friend. Not only do we need to be humble enough to admit that we have fallen short, but in turn, we need to be merciful and gracious enough to hear and accept an apology from one who has hurt us.
During an especially difficult time in my life a well meaning friend started to offer suggestions on how I should be handling the situation. I wasn't feeling comfortable with her helpfulness and finally said firmly, "Look! You are not walking in the same place I am, so you don't know what you would do in this situation."
Some might think I was justified in telling her to back off and others might feel I was being too harsh, that she was only trying to help. Whatever the case, before we parted ways that evening I gave her a hug and said, "I'm sorry I blew up. I am just really struggling right now."
In the long run, not only did my confession and honesty restore our relationship, but it gave my friend a new perspective on what I was dealing with. Since then, I have been able to be more open with her, because she now listens with understanding and patience rather than offering advice. That is a skill we all need to learn.
“Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed...”
If God's word tells us to confess to one another, then it must be fairly important. God knows that our friendships, in fact all our relationships will be better if we approach each other with humility and honesty.