You a digger or a plucker?

How good are you at covering up your sins?  Yep, you read that one correctly - I asked how good you were are "covering up" your sins - sweeping them under the rug, cleverly diverting attention away from them, hoping and praying with the passage of time no one will notice.  It is that "passage of time" we count on to keep us from being discovered - believing if enough time passes, there might just be a chance we won't have our flaw discovered.  In retrospect how has that worked out for you so far?  Maybe there are a few things (skeletons in your closet) you have managed to keep hidden, but eventually all things get uncovered - no matter how well we bury them!

The sins of some people are blatant and march them right into court. The sins of others don’t show up until much later. The same with good deeds. Some you see right off, but none are hidden forever. (I Timothy 5:24-25 MSG)

Most of the time, my sins are of the blatant type - those things I just cannot hide!  I say the wrong words and set a forest on fire in my relationships, or get involved in something weird and wacky only to find out I have have egg on my face when it is all said and done.  I used to be much better at hiding my sins, but as I have grown up a little, I really figure there is no use!  I simply cannot keep hidden for very long what is really in my heart or mind!  Truth be told, neither can you!

Blatant sins show up right away - like when we say the wrong thing and hurt another's feelings, cause relationship ruffles, etc.  They are just "out there" for everyone to see.  Hidden sins are those ones we hope to keep under wraps and confess silently to God, but would never confess to another human being because it would mortify us to do so.  Yet, I have to challenge us on this one because confession to someone who can actually help to hold us accountable is sometimes the very thing we need to finally get the thing out of the dark and into the light.  It can be dealt with and we can rid ourselves of it only when it is in the light.

I have a great friend that doesn't may not even know she is doing this for me.  At times, in the "regular conversation" of how I am feeling about something someone has done or said, she simply says something like, "Well, why do you think she/he has that impression?"  In those simple words, in between bites of sandwich over lunch, she gives me enough seed thought to begin to think on why it is the other person might be responding the way they do.  In most cases, the discovery I make is something I could be doing differently!  Ugh! The tables turn and I am now taking a look not at what the other person is doing, but what I am doing to contribute to the circumstance!  Accountability at its best!

Recently, mom and I were talking about how it is that some find they have to tell you everything "good" they do while others don't seem to "announce" their good deeds at all.  We almost see some individuals as needing the "props" which they get when they tell their story of "good deeds" they have done. I just have to remind us that when we seek "props" here and now, our reward in heaven may be lessened a little because we have already received our reward in the recognition we received here! Matthew 6:1 says, "Be especially careful when you are trying to be good so that you don’t make a performance out of it. It might be good theater, but the God who made you won’t be applauding."  I think it comes down to why we are doing the good deeds in the first place - to be recognized or to be obedient to what God asks us to do.  If it is the latter, we seldom seek to reveal the good we have done, but let God receive the glory for it!

We are all accountable for whatever it is we "push down" into the hidden places of heart - but eventually we need to know they will be revealed.  It is much better to have them revealed now while they are fresh and little enough to deal with.  Anything pushed down long enough and deep enough will give us more effort and hurt to deal with in the end.  Whatever has to be "dug out" is always gonna give us more pain than that which can easily be plucked out! Just sayin!

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