Secret Sins
Jeannine
Sawall
“He
who conceals his sins does not prosper, but whoever confesses and renounces
them finds mercy.”
Proverbs
28:13 (NIV)
Walking
along the beach, I was enjoying the morning sun, a slight breeze and the
conversation of my walking partner when we suddenly noticed several dark
splotches in the water. The “splotches” turned out to be a small type of
stingray called a skate. The skates also seemed to be enjoying a morning at the
beach. Every once in awhile, one of them would break away from the group they
were swimming with, catch a wave and body surf into shore. It was fun to share
the morning with them.
As
my friend and I moved away from these creatures, she asked me if I still
planned on taking a paddle board lesson later that week. I told her it was
still in the plans. She expressed her hesitation after seeing the skates. She
asked, “You still want to take a lesson even after seeing all those creatures
in the water?” I told her that whether I saw the creatures that morning or not,
they were still in the water. I wasn’t going to let those skates come between
me and my lesson.
As
we continued walking, it came to me that oftentimes as Christians, we consider
sins we can plainly see (promiscuity, addiction, murder, adultery…the list
could go on) as serious sins. They are obvious to anyone and, therefore, more
ungodly. However, just because others can’t openly see our sins, doesn’t mean
they aren’t there, lurking below the surface, coming between us and the Lord.
The
Bible teaches that any sin - - obvious in-your-face sins and those concealed
from anyone’s sight - - carry the same guilt. All sin is serious and interferes
with our relationship with the Lord. It doesn’t matter if it’s hatred or
murder, lustful thoughts or adultery, a white lie or stealing; sin is sin
whether kept hidden or acted on openly. Just because no one else may see it,
doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist.
The
fact is that the ocean is full of sea creatures. It would be easy to live in a
world where I can pretend if I don’t see them, they don’t exist. However, it’s
impossible to live that kind of Christian life. There is no secret sin because
God sees below the surface. Nothing is hidden from Him. Thankfully, believers
are given the promise that God forgives any sin we acknowledge to Him. When we
keep our relationship honest with God, He’ll take us deeper than we expected,
and we won’t worry about getting in the water with Him.
GOING DEEPER:
1. What sins are you keeping hidden?
2. What stops
you from going deeper with God?
FURTHER READING:
Jeannine
is a wife and mother of four active boys. She works in property management and actively
walks along those experiencing grief.
