Tuesday, June 25, 2002
Tuesday, June 25, 2002
Then I acknowledged my sin to you, and I did not hide my iniquity; I said, "I will
confess my transgressions to the LORD," and you forgave the guilt of my sin.
The FBI had few clues in the robberies and had never heard of Berthiaume, a soft-spoken,
bespeckled man whose only prior brushes with the law were for disorderly conduct and
shoplifting. They had no reason to search for him.
And he had no reason to confess, except that his conscience bothered him. "It felt like a big
cancer was just burning me up inside," he said, "and I just couldn't carry the weight
on my shoulders no more."
Berthiaume revealed that until his surrender he lived in a state of perpetual paranoia. "Every
time I saw a policeman, I just knew he was looking for me," he said. "Whenever I heard a
noise, I jumped. Every time I heard a car door open, I'd jump up and look out the window."
Even after he learned there were no clues linking him to the robberies, Berthiaume said, he
remained glad he had confessed. "I realize that, even years later, I would always be worried
that someone would still come and snatch me out of my home for bank robbery."
What do you need to confess to God or someone else?
(Psalm 32.5
NRSV)
Some time again, a man named Gene Berthiaume, 25, walked into an office of the Georgia
State Patrol and confessed to robbing two Tennessee banks.
God of peace, as I confess my sins, please bring me peace. Amen.
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