A Life of Cards
Max Lucado
5 min read ⭑
The Muhammad Ali of emotions? Guilt. It comes at us with the left hook of should’ve and the right punch of could’ve. I should’ve controlled my temper. I could’ve been a better mother. We fight back. We duck with denial, sidestep with justification. We blame our environment. We blame our upbringing. But nothing slows guilt down.
Suppose each mistake you made was written on a card and handed to you. Each crossword. Each angry thought. Each selfish choice. Each time you hurt a person, disregard God or disobey a rule. Transgression after transgression recorded on a card and given to you. You lose your temper; someone hands you a card. Lose control — another card. Tell a lie, repeat some gossip, forget to say thank you; receive a card. Mismanage your money; another card. Have judgmental thoughts, negative thoughts, ungrateful thoughts: card, card, card.
You would not be able to carry them all! You’d have to wear a special jacket to carry your sins. This jacket would need pockets. Big pockets for the big mistakes. Inside pockets for secret sins. Even little pockets for those minor mess-ups. It wouldn’t be long before you’d run out of space. How could you keep up with them all?
Jason Leung; Unsplash
We’d try to hide the cards, distract people from looking at them. We’d change subjects often, stay away from personal issues. Eventually, we’d become masters at card games.
The cards would impact my outlook toward God. How in the world can I go to heaven dressed like this? I can’t. So, I get angry with God. (He demands too much!) Or live in fear of God. (He doesn’t want me. I don’t want him.) Or negotiate with God. (If I go to church for a month, God will take four cards!) But down deep, I know I’m in trouble.
How? Paul can help us. “Godly sadness produces a changed heart and life that leads to salvation and leaves no regrets, but sorrow under the influence of the world produces death” (2 Cor. 7:10, ceb).
The apostle contrasts two types of remorse. One is from God that leads to deliverance. One is from the system of the world that leads to death (shame).
One is healthy, the other is deadly. Don’t we long for the healthy version? Don’t we need a way to frame our past so that our past does not hold us back? How can we uproot our guilt and replace it with seeds of grace?
The answer? Confession.
“If we confess our sins, he will forgive our sins, because we can trust him to do what is right” (1 John 1:9 nev).
The word confess conjures up all sorts of images. Backroom interrogations. Chinese water torture. Admitting dalliances to a clergyman whom you don’t know and can’t see. Is this what John had in mind? Not really.
The Greek word for confession is a compound term: homologeo. Homo means “the same.” Logeo means “to speak.” To confess is to speak the same, to agree with. In this case, to agree with God.
Confession is not telling God what he doesn’t know. Impossible. Confession is not complaining. If I merely recite my problems and rehash my woes, I’m whining. Confessing is not blaming. Pointing fingers at others feels good for a while, but it does not heal.
Confession is agreeing with God. We agree about the reality of our sin.
Can we have certainty of forgiven sin? God answers any hesitation with an invitation. “Taste and see that the Lord is good” (Ps. 34:8).
The phrase “taste and see” causes me to think of the employee who gives out samples in the grocery store. I’m not much of a grocery shopper, but I am a great grocery sampler. If you are a store manager, I want more samples! When I see one, I loiter nearby, just hoping for an invitation. It always comes.
“Sir, would you like to taste and see our special today? Cream gravy on potatoes.” Or “Salsa on chips” or “chocolate ice cream.” I don’t have to be asked twice. I step up to the table and experience the cuisine.
“Write your confession on a card. Tear it into tiny pieces. Throw the pieces in the trash. Do so with joy, knowing that God keeps no record of your mistakes.”
This is God’s surprising encouragement to us. He throws open the pantry of his heart and says: “Taste and see how good I am.”
If you do not believe that God is good, you will not confess your sins to him. But if he is who he claims to be, you will. Is he good? Taste and see.
Every page of Scripture is a sample of his goodness. He was good enough to give Adam and Eve a garden that was declared good seven times over. He was good enough to give Abraham a new land and Jacob a new name and Joseph a safe place to protect the nation of Israel. God was good enough to give the enslaved Israelites freedom, Joshua the promised land, and David a second chance. He was good enough to care for Ruth, embolden Esther, protect Daniel, save Jonah and equip Nehemiah.
“Taste and see that the Lord is good.” Stand in the Bethlehem stable. How good of God to become flesh. Stand in Joseph’s carpentry shop. How good of Jesus to live and labor among us. Stand on Jordan’s riverbank. How good of Jesus to be baptized in the water.
Taste the goodness of God. Taste the fish that Peter said could not be caught. Taste the wine that the wedding did not have. Taste the bread that fed five thousand men and their families.
Taste and see the goodness of God.
At the foot of the cross, taste his forgiveness.
At the vacant tomb, taste his power.
Was he not good then? Is he not good still?
Will he not be good enough to receive your confession and forgive your sins?
Wave the white flag. No more combat. No more doubt.
Remember my illustration of the cards? Create your own. Write your confession on a card. Tear it into tiny pieces. Throw the pieces in the trash. Do so with joy, knowing that God keeps no record of your mistakes.
“We can trust God to do what is right. He will cleanse us from all the wrongs we have done” (1 John 1:9, NCV).
God has a place to put your sins. And it’s not in your pocket.
With more than 150 million books in print, Max Lucado has been dubbed “America’s Pastor” by Christianity Today, “The Best Preacher in America” by Reader’s Digest, and the “Ted Lasso of Pastors” by the Dallas Morning News. His latest book is Tame Your Thoughts: Three Tools to Renew Your Mind and Transform Your Life. Max Lucado has penned more than 40 works of adult nonfiction, standing alongside dozens and dozens of bestselling children’s books, gift books, Bible studies, commentaries and collections. His books have been published in 56 languages worldwide and regularly appear on bestseller lists, including The New York Times, Publishers Weekly and USA Today. He has been pastoring in San Antonio at Oak Hills Church since 1988.
Adapted from “Tame Your Thoughts: Three Tools to Renew Your Mind and Transform Your Life” by Max Lucado. Copyright © 2025. Used by permission of Thomas Nelson.
