What benefit did you reap at that time from the things you are now ashamed of? Those things result in death! (Romans 6:21)
In the 1996 film Fargo, the main character plots a crime that was “supposed to be a no rough stuff type deal,” but (SPOILER ALERT) when his accomplices attempt to cover up their mistakes, their crime spree grows increasingly heinous and there’s a significant body count by the end of the film.
The Oscar-winning screenplay reminded me of how, when I was a kid, I’d tell “one little white lie” to cover up something I’d done, thinking it was harmless, then find myself having to spin a whole web of lies to help support the first lie I told.
I guess it’s human nature to cover up our mistakes and try to hide them- even for David, a man after God’s own heart.
In 2 Samuel 11, David peeks at the married Bathsheba while she’s bathing and lusts after her. He later gets her pregnant, and to cover up their indiscretion, he arranges for her husband Uriah to come back from battle, hoping that he’ll sleep with Bathsheba to make it look like the child is his. Uriah doesn’t take the bait (primarily out of loyalty to his king, David), so David sends the loyal but unwitting soldier to his death. With Bathsheba now a widow, David takes her as his own wife and they have the child they conceived.
He tried to cover up his sin by committing even more sins.
What started out as lust led to adultery, which snowballed into deceit, an abuse of power, and ultimately, murder– David had another human being killed simply to cover up his own moral shortcomings. He successfully hid his mistakes from others for a while, but he could never hide what he’d done from the LORD. The prophet Nathan later called him out, “then David said to Nathan, ‘I have sinned against the LORD’” (2 Sam. 12:13a).
Coming clean doesn’t come easily when we fear the consequences– “the wages of sin is death“ (Rom 6:23)– but the good news is that, by God’s grace, we no longer face the consequences that we deserve; instead, we’ve been set free from sin and have eternal life in Christ (Rom. 6:22). Upon David’s confession, “Nathan replied, ‘The LORD has taken away your sin. You are not going to die’” (2 Sam. 12:13b).
There’s grace when we simply come clean.
If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word is not in us. (1 John 1:8-10)
