Cleaning House
Sometimes, it’s funny to watch little kids who have done something “naughty” try to hide it. The child who sneaks chocolate and eats it quietly and when questioned, innocently says they did not partake when the evidence in brown smudges is all over their face… Or the little one who decides to go wild with a marker all over the walls of the house only to deny their actions when crossed-examined even while the marker is still in their little hand…
Somehow it’s cute—though cringe-worthy—when tiny ones attempt to cover-up their wrong actions, but at some point those quiet sins stop being cute, right? At an undiscernible age, a child’s efforts at concealing their wrongs and their subsequent denial of their behavior is no longer adorable…instead it is quite the opposite. It becomes an avenue for distrust and disappointment.
It is the same for us as adults when we engage in sinful words, actions, or behaviors. It’s not attractive to others and most definitely is not cute. Our sin is a corruption to our soul…not just before salvation but after our salvation as well. It is a stench—not a lovely perfume and fragrance—to the Father. But how much more so our secret sins? Our quiet indiscretions? The things we try to cover-up or at the very least attempt to justify because they are behind closed doors?
Ecclesiastes 12:14 reveals this: “For God will bring every deed into judgment, including every hidden thing, whether it is good or evil.
Jesus warns in Luke 12:1b-5, “Beon your guard against the yeast of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy. There is nothing concealed that will not be disclosed, or hidden that will not be made known. What you have said in the dark will be heard in the daylight, and what you have whispered in the ear in the inner rooms will be proclaimed from the roofs. I tell you, my friends, do not be afraid of those who kill the body and after that can do no more. But I will show you whom you should fear: Fear him who, after your body has been killed, has authority to throw you into hell. Yes, I tell you, fear him.”
So then, does it really matter what we watch on TV behind closed doors? Does it matter what we read or view on social media? Does it matter which of “those” words we use since no one really hears them? Do the fits of anger, laziness, lust, binge eating, filthiness, blame, judgmental attitudes, secret jealousy, condemning words and gossip actually matter? Yes…they do.
In Psalm 101:2-4 David says, “I will behave wisely in a perfect way. Oh, when will You come to me? I will walk within my house with a perfect heart. I will set nothing wicked before my eyes; I hate the work of those who fall away; it shall not cling to me. A perverse heart shall depart from me; I will not know wickedness.”
This week, let’s commit to “cleaning house”—spiritually, mentally, physically, emotionally—in every way. Let’s repent of our hidden and not so hidden sins. Let’s ask the Lord to reveal areas where we need to change, and let’s trust Him as we allow Him to lead us in a new way inside and outside of our house.
Katie Botello
FBC Aztec Member