Wednesday in the Word: Are We Paying Too Much?

As I put the finishing touches on the tuna salad I was making for supper, I heard the very last of a Bonanza re-run on the TV in the next room. I had not paid much attention to the program until the last ten minutes or so. The plot had something to do with a rather old man who had kept a secret for years about an unethical scheme he had been involved in to make money at the expense of others. He finally made a clean breast of his guilt and told Adam Cartwright that he would do whatever it took to try and make it right with the people he had wronged. As Bonanza was about to end, Adam said to his father Ben, "Sometimes truth costs a great deal." Ben nodded and replied,"Yes, but never as much as covering it up does!" It was sort of an "Ah-ha" moment as I stood there at the table cutting up an apple for the tuna salad. I thought to myself how true a statement that was.

I was reminded of the verse in Proverbs 28:13 that says "He that covereth his sins shall not prosper: but whoso confesseth and forsaketh them shall have mercy." When we cover up our sins we never gain as much as we lose. We may save face with those around us when we cover our wrong doings but deep down we carry a load of guilt that makes us miserable. We are paying a big price. But we don't have to! The last part of this verse tells me that if I confess my sins to God and forsake...or turn away from...them, He will give me mercy. And along with that is implied forgiveness and rest in my spirit.

One thing I want to do in the New Year of 2012 is to try and keep "short accounts" with the Lord. I don't want to have to pay for something that I don't have to pay for by keeping it "covered up"! Do you?

God bless you!

Marilyn

($-image created by Stuart Miles)