Proverbs 28:13 - Whoever conceals his transgressions will not prosper, but he who confesses and forsakes them will obtain mercy.
What causes people to hide their sins from those around them? It could be because of a fear of punishment or judgement. It could be because of a desire to keep doing what is wrong, and not wanting to be told to stop. It could be because of the collateral damage that you know others would experience if your hidden sins were brought to life. Whatever the reason, sin is ugly, and we tend to want to hide it away as if it were an unsightly blemish on our face.
Now, a blemish is skin deep, and therefore its effects on you if people see it are purely surface level. So, if we try to hide things that are ugly on the surface, how much more will we want to hide the ugliness of our sin inside of us? The answer is exponentially more. A better analogy for hidden sin in our lives would be to think of it as a deep, infected wound somewhere on your body. You may cover it up best you can, but if you don’t see a doctor, that wound could become deadly.
If we conceal our wrongdoings, they will destroy us. The devastation that we experience from sin becomes far more damaging to us and those in our lives if it goes unaddressed. The solution is that we have to be willing to confess our sins to God and to others. Many people have refused to do this, hiding sin away in their hearts, doing things that they ought not to do, but because no one knows about it, the life of that person begins to implode from the inside out. At that point, it’s only a matter of time before hidden sin makes itself known publicly, and usually in horrific ways.
Confession is scary because we fear what others may say or do when they find out about our sins. This is understandable because historically, people have responded to sin with wrath rather than mercy. Rather than seeking to heal the wound, some have been so disgusted by what they see that instead of helping, they just talk about how bad the wound is and how horrible the person is for allowing it to happen. God is merciful towards sinners who confess, and we should do the same.
Now, it’s important to note that the giving of mercy does not diminish the effect or consequence of the sin that has been brought to light. If anything, this verse tells us the opposite. If you are in hidden sin then you must confess it to have life, but confession is only the first step in the process. You also need to forsake the sin in your life, which is just another word for repentance. A disease can’t get better just by talking about it. You must make an effort to eliminate it or you run the risk of losing your life because of it. As John Owen said, “Be killing sin or it will be killing you.”
If you are hiding sin in your life, please confess it to the Lord and others and then, forsake it. Confession may cause more difficulty initially, especially if your hidden sins have been against others, but trust that the Lord will work even in that to restore, heal and strengthen those affected by those sins in ways that you may not be able to fathom.
