What’s covering you?
He who cover his sins will not prosper, But whoever confesses and forsakes them will have mercy. Proverbs 28:13 NLT He who covers his transgressions will not prosper, but whoever confesses and forsakes his sins will obtain mercy. AMPC You can’t whitewash your sins and get by with it. You find mercy by admitting and leaving them. MSG In Proverbs 28 verse 13 we have a comparison of two different types of people. People who act differently, which leads to two different results. The fact is when we make various choices the results will vary. If we continue to do the same thing without heeding instruction or warning, no one can take us off the path of destruction except ourselves— by changing our choices. The writer of Proverbs 28, tells us about an individual who covers his transgression, this person will not prosper. Let’s give this person a random name, “Aee”. Aee covers her transgressions, she will not prosper. ( I really hope that Aee isn’t someone’s real name. I don’t want to make this type of declaration over anyone’s life). What exactly is Aee doing? In Hebrew the word covers is kasah, to conceal, to make passive, to cloth, and secrecy. Aee is hiding her transgression, not acknowledging the full weight of her actions or in-action. She is choosing to brush past her transgression as if it holds no consequence. Aee sees her transgression with a level of comfort because she uses it to cloth herself— to cover herself from everyone else. No one knows about it and because of that Aee never has to acknowledge that she’s living in a lifestyle of destruction. My mind immediately began to think about Adam and Eve. Before Adam and Eve sinned they were naked but unaware. When Adam and Eve sinned their eyes were open and they saw their nakedness. Immediately, they clothed themselves.. Remember, their entire time in the garden they were naked but it wasn’t until after they sinned they saw the need to “ cloth and cover” themselves. When God asked them where they were they said “I heard you walking and I was afraid because I was naked so I hid myself (Gen 3:7-11).” Before and Adam and Eve heard God walking, they used fig leaves to make aprons. Yet when they heard God they still hid. They told Him they hid because they were naked. But they weren’t naked because they had on the aprons they made… Adam and Eve tried within their own capacity to cover themselves but that’s the thing about sin… eventually it must come to light. We can only do so much. It is not hidden from God. Adam and Eve hid because they tried to conceal their sin… but the fact they knew they were naked could not be concealed. When we know we have sinned and we conceal it we are in doing the opposite of what God wants – nakedness, openness. We have another individual, “Si”. Si confesses and forsakes her transgression. Let’s look at what Si does. In Hebrew the word confesses is yada to throw out, cast, and shoot. The word forsakes is azab to loose, forsake, leave, leave safely, having nothing to do with, abandon, loosen, relinquish and refuse. Si is doing what is pleasing to the Lord. Si is not allowing her transgressions to keep her from God. Si’s response to sin is what God desires from us, His children. Si recognizes that her sins are not beneficial for her, she chooses to throw it out there. Si is airing it out or putting it in the open. She casts and shoots it out, so it has no control over her. Si looses herself of the transgression because she knows that there is life in confession and she has the power to forsake sin. There is life in turning her back to a lifestyle of sin. Si leaves the transgression but she not only leaves , she leaves it safely. No strings attached, no residue of the past destruction. She leaves it in one piece. By leaving sin she moves toward wholeness, because she is whole in Christ. Si relinquishes the control it had over her, abandoning it for a greater choice. Si refuses that transgression. Both Aee and Si transgressed. Both were in rebellion. But it was their action that led to the two contrasting results. According to the Word, the Aees of the world will not prosper but the people like Si will obtain mercy. The truth is when we cover sin we cannot obtain mercy. God wants us to confess our sins so that He can cover us with His mercy and His love. By covering sin we are inadvertently saying “God I don’t need mercy”. But my love we all need mercy. God is willing and able to give that plus so much more to us. God makes it available to those who recognize their need for it. He has His arms open, ready to receive us. God wants us to be in His presence naked, unconcealed so that He may cover us. Some of us are yearning for a deeper intimacy with God but we have concealed sins creating a distance… God is kind because He convicts and corrects us privately but we have a responsibility to heed the conviction and correction privately. ‘ Clothe yourselves therefore, as God’s own chosen ones (His own picked representatives), [who are] purified and holy and well-beloved [by God Himself, by putting on behavior marked by] tenderhearted pity and mercy, kind feeling, a lowly opinion of yourselves, gentle ways, [and] patience [which is tireless and long-suffering, and has the power to endure whatever comes, with good temper].’ Colossians 3:12 AMP I am not sure why I’ve taken this path in sharing this scripture but WE CANNOT BE THE BRIDE OF CHRIST WITH UNCONFESSED AND UNFORSAKEN SINS IN OUR LIFE. I truly believe that God’s grace is sufficient to strengthen us to confess and gives