I’ve been on one diet after another since I was about 12 years old, and not a single one of those diets would permit me to indulge in my favorite candy bar. Imagine that! I’m sure you can also imagine the number of times that I cheated on those diets. After all, what woman can live a week without chocolate? Sometimes I would sneak a SKOR bar into the middle of my pile of groceries and then tuck it in my purse while the bagger was doing his thing. No one at home would be the wiser. Of course, I would then have to consume said SKOR bar in the bathroom or behind another closed door. I’m sure no one else has ever done this.
What is ironic about my little escapades is that I was the one who would ultimately suffer the consequences whether I was seen or not. I might notice a gain on the scale, but far worse than that, I would feel the guilt that inevitably follows. I feared being caught and letting someone down, but I was really letting myself down.
I’ve experienced the same type of guilt when watching a show on television that I know is not God honoring. (I'm not even talking about SOAPS, although they would definitely fall into this catagory. My bend is toward the medical drama shows.) I would watch those shows during the day when I was home alone with little ones who didn’t know any better and wouldn’t tell if they did. I won’t deny the attraction to some of these shows. After all, who doesn’t like a good drama? The problem was that people were always falling into bed with others -not their spouse - or lying to one another and cheating on each other. Certainly not God-honoring activities to fill up my mind and my days! Have you ever been there? You probably wouldn’t tattle on yourself if you had!
Why is it that we always try to hide our "little" transgressions? Adam and Eve hid from God after eating the forbidden fruit. (I wonder if they hid while they were eating it, too.) Likewise, Judas when he sought to betray Jesus waited until the opportune time when very few people would be around to see him do it. How did that work for him? Not well at all. Almost two thousand years have passed and yet anyone who has heard the story of Easter knows exactly what he did. Let’s pretend for a moment that Judas' sin was not recorded in Scripture and that no one witnessed it save himself and those who paid him. Would God still hold him accountable for his actions? Did God see Adam and Eve behind the bushes? Did He hold them accountable for what they had done? Of course!
Our God sees everything that is done in secret. He knows the little white lies we tell even if no one else is privy to them. He is disappointed with our poor choices of what to watch, what to eat, what to wear or what to do with the resources He entrusts to us. I could go on and on. Our sins grieve Him. My prayer is that I will feel that same grief, beg His forgiveness, and follow through with making the right choice the next time. It's time to stop pretending that I can hide from Him and that my "little" sins don't matter.
Psalm 90:8 (NIV)
You have set our iniquities before you, our secret sins in the light of your presence.
You have set our iniquities before you, our secret sins in the light of your presence.
Excellent post...totally right on. I too find myself hiding things all the time - and excusing it like it isn't a lie. I think sometimes our society even encourages wives and mothers to hide things - the thinking being that our husbands and kids are just out to ruin our fun.
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