Proverbs 28:13-14 says “He who conceals his sins does not prosper, but whoever confesses and renounces them finds mercy. Blessed is the man who always fears the LORD, but he who hardens his heart falls into trouble.”
In the past few months, I’ve seen a few examples of people NOT confessing their sin (myself included). In my own life, I’ve seen how not talking with God about my sins (big or little) causes me to cut off all communication with God. You know how you wake up one day and say “I haven’t had my quiet time in two days/weeks/months/years!” and you wonder why? I think it has a lot to do with unconfessed sin. I’ve seen some of my friends lives take a downhill slide and, in my opinion, it is largely due to unconfessed sin.
The enemy has convinced us of some dangerous things regarding sin: First, “If I don’t get caught, there are no consequences.” Second, “Nobody gets hurt when I …(fill in the blank with your favorite vice/sin).”
Regarding the first, “If I don’t get caught, there are no consequences.”; When was the last time you drove over the speed limit and felt bad about it? Instead, we joke about it and get others to laugh. In the scope of life, the crime of speeding is pretty close to the bottom of the ‘bad sins’ scale. Other things are much worse: gluttony, murder, lust, adultery, witchcraft, pride, covetousness, etc.
I’m not going to say anything foolish like, “it’s a short trip from speeding to murder.” That’s not my point. My point is; if you sin, you will not propser. If you harden your heart, you’ll fall into trouble. Why is it OK to commit some sins and not others?
Regarding the second, “Nobody gets hurt when I …(fill in the blank with your favorite vice/sin)”; I don’t think there are any victimless crimes. If you’re looking at pornography, the humans you’re looking at are victims. You may have convinced yourself that the people in the pictures are posing because they want to, but I can assure you that this is not the case. Following is a list of more people who are affected when you look at porn:
- Your spouse – according to scripture, you’ve committed adultery
- Your children – you’ve opened a foothold for the enemy in your life that will affect them for their entire lives.
- You – you’re going to start believing things about sex, your wife, and other women that aren’t true. Looking at porn will have devestating consequences for your life and the lives of your family.
Have you confessed lately?
