Proverbial Post 10; Proverbs 25-27

May the mumbling commence!

Honesty is the best policy.  But, it’s a hard policy to follow when you are speaking to those you love and to yourself.  Honesty hurts, but it is the kind of hurt that leads to healing.  It’s the honesty policy spoken of in Proverbs 28-30.  Read some verses from chapter 28:

            He who conceals his sins does not prosper,

                        but whoever confesses and renounces them finds mercy. (Verse 13)

            He who robs his father or mother

                        and says, “It’s not wrong” –

                        he is partner to him who destroys. (Verse 24)

Concealing sin or even denying that it happened or that what was done was even sin results in destruction – of relationships, of people, and of property.  When we call sin a sin and when we confess the sin, it opens wounds to be cleansed so that they can heal without further damage or infection.

Sometimes the infection of concealing and denying sin results in blindness to the true view of the world through the eyes of the Lord.  As Proverbs 29: 18 states, “Where there is no revelation, the people cast off restraint; but blessed is he who keeps the law.”  Sometimes the infection results in pride.  Read about pride in Proverbs 29: 23, “A man’s pride brings him low, but a man of lowly spirit gains honor.”

And there are other ways that hidden sin affects us and others.  Read about them from some verses of chapter 30:

            There are those who curse their fathers

                        and do not bless their mothers;

            those who are pure in their own eyes

                        and yet are not cleansed of their filth;

            those whose eyes are haughty,

                        whose glances are so disdainful;

those whose teeth are swords

those whose jaws are set with knives

to devour the poor from the earth,

            the needy from among mankind. (Verses 11-14)

If you have played the fool and exalted yourself,

            or if you have planned evil,

            clap your hand over your mouth!

For as churning the milk produces butter,

            and as twisting the nose produces blood,

            so stirring up anger produces strife. (Verses 32-33)

Hidden sin often leads to denied sin.  Denied sin leads to going to the wrong source to cleanse our wounds.  We will think that we are clean; we will not realize our filth.  It will affect our relationships with others.  We will see their sins clearly and be haughty.  We will be haughty because we deny our own sinfulness.  In fact, we will distain others.  We may begin to convince ourselves that we have a unique relationship with God.

We will exalt ourselves and fall into evil.  We will even plan evil and deny its base nature.  Anger will be stirred up and strife will result…

No, it is much better to confess our sins, open the wounds, and allow the Great Physician to heal us without any infections.  Then, we will be truly clean.  Let’s be honest with ourselves and honest with the ones that we love.

Enough mumbling for now…

Peace Out