We cannot be great without confessing our sins. True greatness upholds the greatest standard not a lesser one. The greatest standard is God’s law and His law requires perfection. A great man would not affirm an imperfect standard, nor would a great man falsely claim that he had attained perfection. A truly great man must hold a truly great standard and make a true evaluation of himself in light of that standard.

So, we cannot be great without confessing our sins, however, we are not great because we confess our sins. It is, on one hand, the least we could do. We were supposed to, just as the servant was supposed to make dinner after plowing the field all day. “So [we] also, when [we] have done all that [we] were commanded, say, ‘We are unworthy servants; we have only done what was our duty.’” (Luke 17:7-10). The master doesn’t throw a banquet to honor the servant who did his job for the banquet, and the Lord doesn’t throw an award’s ceremony because we’re honest about burning the roast on purpose. There is no crown for confession.

We cannot be great without confessing our sins. We are not great because we confess our sins. What to do? Confess our sins and be being saved. Christ is a great Savior. It isn’t our knowledge of His standard that’s great. It isn’t our acknowledgment of disobedience that’s great. He’s great! We only get to be great because of His grace. We seek greatness by getting on our knees and letting Him exalt us. We seek greatness by being forgiven and cleansed by Him as we confess our sins.