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Confession or Concealment?The Folly of Concealment and the Mercy of Repentance
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CONFESSING OR CONCEALING?
The Folly of Concealment and the Mercy of Repentance
The Natural Instinct to Hide
“He who conceals his transgressions will not prosper, but he who confesses and forsakes them will find compassion” (Prov 28:13). This statement is quite contrary the prevailing way of thinking when it comes to sin, transgressions, mistakes, and acts of disobedience. Think about it for a moment. What is your knee jerk reaction when you find yourself ensnared in the bog of pornography or tangled in the thicket of anger, resentment, and unforgiveness? The very thought of someone finding out about the secret sins of our hearts is terrifying. What do we do? We hide. We conceal. We cover it up.
The Fear of Exposure
We fear our spouse finding out about our late night viewing habits, or about our church friends finding out about the outbursts of anger that roll through your home like a thunderstorm in the summer. We cover our tracks and conceal the evidence of our infidelities. We put on plastic faces as a family so that no one truly knows what life is really like behind closed doors. Why do we do this? We fear people finding out and rejecting us. We fear judgment. We fear the consequences that may come because of our actions. Adam and Eve’s initial reaction to their sin was to conceal it. They hid themselves and then covered their nakedness, their shame, with leaves. They could not bear the thought of God seeing them as they really were.
The Deception of Concealment
Our heart tells us to hide, to conceal, to cover it up. It reasons that there is no compassion for those found to be guilty. Your only hope for a normal life is to hide what you have done and hope that no one ever finds out. The only way you can prosper in life is to keep hidden all the skeletons in your closet. Yet, this behavior produces more angst, more uncertainty, more sin in the lies we tell to perpetuate the concealment. We do not experience prospering. We do not experience peace. And inevitably when our sins come into the light, compassion is not what we find.
The Inevitable Consequences of Hidden Sin
Look back at the verse from Proverbs. The one who conceals his sin, that person will NOT prosper. Our sins will eventually come to light. Our infidelities will be exposed. Our secrets will be uncovered. The sin and its inevitable consequences bring suffering, sorrow, fear, shame, guilt, and broken relationships. This is not prospering. There is hope though my friend. Look at the second half of the verse. The one who confesses and abandons his sin, that person will find compassion. Instead of concealing your sin, confess it and abandon it. Bring into the light and turn away from it. That is the path that leads to compassion, mercy, and grace.
God’s Promise of Mercy
Confess your sin to God and remove it as well as access to it from your life. Confess your sin to those injured by your sin. Admit your guilt and ask for forgiveness from God and those you have offended. As you seek to excise it from your heart and life you will find that people have compassion for they see a fellow sinner struggling against the tide of sinful pressure. They will see their own struggles mirrored in your broken heart and compassion will rise in their hearts. When you confess your sins to God He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness (1 John 1:9). Jesus died to pay the penalty for our sins. Now God stands as the inexhaustible fountain of compassion for repentant sinners. Do not believe the lie of the world. Do not listen to the panicked trembling of your sinful heart. Listen to God. Concealing your sin will not cause you to prosper. It will become a cancer that eats away at your soul. The compassion you long for is found on the road of confession and a forsaking of that sin.
The Folly of Concealment and the Mercy of Repentance
The Natural Instinct to Hide
“He who conceals his transgressions will not prosper, but he who confesses and forsakes them will find compassion” (Prov 28:13). This statement is quite contrary the prevailing way of thinking when it comes to sin, transgressions, mistakes, and acts of disobedience. Think about it for a moment. What is your knee jerk reaction when you find yourself ensnared in the bog of pornography or tangled in the thicket of anger, resentment, and unforgiveness? The very thought of someone finding out about the secret sins of our hearts is terrifying. What do we do? We hide. We conceal. We cover it up.
The Fear of Exposure
We fear our spouse finding out about our late night viewing habits, or about our church friends finding out about the outbursts of anger that roll through your home like a thunderstorm in the summer. We cover our tracks and conceal the evidence of our infidelities. We put on plastic faces as a family so that no one truly knows what life is really like behind closed doors. Why do we do this? We fear people finding out and rejecting us. We fear judgment. We fear the consequences that may come because of our actions. Adam and Eve’s initial reaction to their sin was to conceal it. They hid themselves and then covered their nakedness, their shame, with leaves. They could not bear the thought of God seeing them as they really were.
The Deception of Concealment
Our heart tells us to hide, to conceal, to cover it up. It reasons that there is no compassion for those found to be guilty. Your only hope for a normal life is to hide what you have done and hope that no one ever finds out. The only way you can prosper in life is to keep hidden all the skeletons in your closet. Yet, this behavior produces more angst, more uncertainty, more sin in the lies we tell to perpetuate the concealment. We do not experience prospering. We do not experience peace. And inevitably when our sins come into the light, compassion is not what we find.
The Inevitable Consequences of Hidden Sin
Look back at the verse from Proverbs. The one who conceals his sin, that person will NOT prosper. Our sins will eventually come to light. Our infidelities will be exposed. Our secrets will be uncovered. The sin and its inevitable consequences bring suffering, sorrow, fear, shame, guilt, and broken relationships. This is not prospering. There is hope though my friend. Look at the second half of the verse. The one who confesses and abandons his sin, that person will find compassion. Instead of concealing your sin, confess it and abandon it. Bring into the light and turn away from it. That is the path that leads to compassion, mercy, and grace.
God’s Promise of Mercy
Confess your sin to God and remove it as well as access to it from your life. Confess your sin to those injured by your sin. Admit your guilt and ask for forgiveness from God and those you have offended. As you seek to excise it from your heart and life you will find that people have compassion for they see a fellow sinner struggling against the tide of sinful pressure. They will see their own struggles mirrored in your broken heart and compassion will rise in their hearts. When you confess your sins to God He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness (1 John 1:9). Jesus died to pay the penalty for our sins. Now God stands as the inexhaustible fountain of compassion for repentant sinners. Do not believe the lie of the world. Do not listen to the panicked trembling of your sinful heart. Listen to God. Concealing your sin will not cause you to prosper. It will become a cancer that eats away at your soul. The compassion you long for is found on the road of confession and a forsaking of that sin.