Hide The Beer!

Human beings sure are an easily offendable lot. And we get offended by all the wrong things. A style of music somebody listens to. Who watched this movie or that one. Whether somebody enjoys a glass of beer with the barbecue or accidentally cursed when an errant finger got caught in a closing door.

The problem is, the stuff God looks at, we have a bit more trouble with. In his second letter to the Corinthians, Paul tells why he has sent an envoy ahead of his next visit, in order to strengthen the believers. The reason, in a nutshell, is because he worries for them. Not that he might catch some talk about Beverly having a glass of wine with at the neighbor's party, or that Jimmy and June were out holding hands by the stables.

... I am afraid that when I come I may not find you as I want you to be, and you may not find me as you want me to be. I fear that there may be discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, slander, gossip, arrogance and disorder. I am afraid that when I come again my God will humble me before you, and I will be grieved over many who have sinned earlier and have not repented of the impurity, sexual sin and debauchery in which they have indulged. (2 Corinthians 12:20-21)

Paul is concerned -- because God is concerned -- about the heart. About the real sin that is constantly at our doorstep. 

We have a habit, my wife and I, when it comes to getting our kids to clean their rooms. It's a simple enough step: we check the closet. We didn't always do that, and frankly it didn't take long for my son to figure that out. We'd walk in, and his floor would be spotless. Yet, we were always amazed -- annoyed, irritated, and slightly angry, but amazed -- at how quickly it would go from shiny and clean to once again becoming an insane, hurricane-impact, chaotic mess. Eventually, we figured it out: the mess had never left the room. He had simply shoved it into his closet. And when next he opened that closet door, the mess simply shifted back into its original position on the floor. 

Sin is like that. We scrub our exteriors, and work hard to maintain a pure and clean appearance. We fool our fellow churchgoers, even happily inviting the Pastor over (making sure, first, to remove any evidence of potential indiscretion or controversy). Meanwhile, inside, the mess sits waiting. Selfishness, gossip, slander, arrogance, disorder, sexual impurity, hatred... these things remain hidden. Yet, when the pastor leaves -- when the Church stops looking -- the closet door opens, and our sin spills out. 

Of course, you may well be fooling the deacons and the preachers and the little old ladies at church. But God knows you.

God, forgive my hidden sins. Cleanse me from the inside, so I am -- all of me -- pure and worthy.