One of the first results of sin in the lives of Adam and Eve was their attempt to hide…behind fig leaves of all things. That had to be uncomfortable, but let’s not go there.
Hiding has been with us ever since. Yes, we are all still participating and pretending to hide. Many are uncomfortable, in fact, very uncomfortable, but still insist upon pretending to hide. One of the peculiarities about sin is that sin piles on top of other sins and makes it hard to sort out. So, over time, some sin remains hidden.
This frequently happens in discipleship of someone. They begin to live a life of repentance and before long they find another sin the Holy Spirit shows them they had not noticed. O, it was there, but they were too busy indulging in other areas.
A friend of mine owns a junk yard. He is one of my favorite people. He told me one of his yearly tasks is cleaning up his yard. He tells his men to go and remove everything they can see into a pile. When they finish, he sends them out the next day to pick up everything they can see and put it into the pile. He said every year they are amazed that they find so much this time because they “picked everything up yesterday.” He does this for several days until the yard is clean. His point is clear. When the big things are picked up, the next day the small things are then big and easy to see. This process continues until the yard is cleaned.
Sin is the same way. So many people will not go out the next day because they think they have already taken care of the “big ones.” Repentance must be a daily examination. Very often people will get distracted by others’ sin or some theological glitch and will suddenly use this as a way of not having to go into repent mode and will then use these as justification for their own sin. They will leave churches, friends, gospel fellowship simply because of “hidden sins” are not dealt with. The hope is their sin will stay hidden. This is self-deception.
Remember my friend and his junk yard.