In my last entry I started talking about the gift exchange known as “secret Santa” and I was planning to correlate it to our secret sins, but I was quickly sidetracked on a Santa rant. I do not hate the original Nicholas (if he was a real man), but I totally despise the idea of a magical and powerful being named Santa Claus.
While the practice of “secret Santa” might be harmless up to a point, the presence of secret sins in our lives poses a real danger. Every human being on this earth has at least one sin that is kept hidden from the rest of the world.
There are sins in our lives that are public or semi-public. Everyone knows that we are not perfect and therefore we might have no problem confessing that sometimes we fall prey to anger, depression, doubts, fears, a little gossip and the occasional “white” lie.
Oh, but there are dark and perverse sins that we would never confess to anyone. These are the sins that we keep under lock and key. You know what I’m talking about. You have at least one (if not more) of those “pet” sins. If others could see those secret sins, they would be horrified, appalled and disgusted.
These are the sins that bring us comfort (for a short time) and shame (for a long time). These are the deep seated hatred; the enslaving lust; the thirst for the forbidden; the perverse thoughts and the fleshly passions.
One of the reasons that we can be sure that the Bible is God’s inerrant, infallible and eternal Word, is that it publishes and condemns every sin. Most biographies exalt their subjects, but the Bible proclaims the sins of the kings, prophets, apostles and every believer.
I don’t know what your secret sin is and I don’t want to find out. I pray that God helps you overcome it and I hope that you will pray that others (myself included) will have victory over their sins.
In Christ, we have been forgiven of every sin (Colossians 1:14). Therefore, we are free to serve God, not to sin. In fact, we don’t have the need or the inclination to sin, as we have a new nature in Christ (2 Corinthians 5:17).
It is a fact: You and I have secret sins, but there is a twofold solution to this problem. The Bible declares that:
“He who covers his sins will not prosper, But whoever confesses and forsakes them will have mercy” (Proverbs 28:13).
Confess and forsake. If confessing our secret sin is difficult, forsaking it might be almost impossible for us, but nothing is impossible for God (Luke 1:37). Lord, help us to confess and forsake sin and to serve you with a pure heart.
Alexander Gonzalez
