DISCUSSION:
Solomon once wrote “Whoever conceals his transgressions will not prosper, but he who confesses and forsakes them will obtain mercy.” (Proverbs 28.13). But what exactly did he mean by “conceals”? Women use “concealer” on their faces as they apply their makeup. Auto detailers may use a little touch up paint to “conceal” any scratches on a car. Just like these analogies the Hebrew word for “conceal” is very similar in that it means to cover or hide from view, but with an added twist. The word also means “to plump” or “to overwhelm”. That added twist indicates that Solomon is addressing the person who not only is trying to cover or hide his sin from view, but also the person who is trying to do more good deeds to outweigh the bad; the person who thinks he can continue committing this sin because he does so much good or has overwhelmed himself with good deeds elsewhere. Just because we do a lot of righteous, holy, and acceptable acts, does not mean that sin is excusable. What if I wore a white dress shirt, a white tie, a white suit, with white socks and shoes to church on Sunday? For the sake of argument, I was overwhelmed with white, with one small exception; I spilled a little coffee on my pants on the way to church. Does the entire white make the stain go away? Of course not! Instead of trying to plump up our good to overwhelm our bad, why don’t we just acknowledge the stain and ask the cleaner to remove it? It is only then that we will be able to obtain mercy, and mercy is a good thing.