Coming Clean

Passage: Psalm 32

Our four-year-old daughter is, it seems, incapable of dishonesty or deceit. She says exactly what she’s thinking or feeling at any given moment. This is delightful when she’s visiting a new place; awkward when she gets a gift she’s not crazy about; and convenient when she breaks a rule. In respect to the latter, there have been numerous occasions on which she’s come to us to tell us she has (for example) pushed her younger sister, written on herself with marker, or pulled all the toilet paper off the roll.

What we’ve come to recognize is that she is unable to live with the tension of an unconfessed transgression. Our daughter can’t stand knowing she’s done something that will eventually get her into trouble. She prefers to come clean and get it all in the open right away. Keeping it inside is usually punishment enough for her.

At four years of age our daughter already knows something it takes many of us a lifetime to learn. She intuitively possesses a fragment of wisdom celebrated by David, the man after God’s own heart. This piece of wisdom is the subject of Psalm 32: the joy of coming clean.

Psalm 32 is a testament to the benefits of living in right relationship with God. Foremost among these benefits is knowing that one’s sins have been forgiven. David, a man well aware of his own shortcomings, recognizes that the only way he can be made right is by an act of God. David knows the toll that unconfessed sin takes on his heart, soul, mind and strength. David has discovered the relief of laying bare his sin and casting himself upon the mercy of God. In turn David testifies that God’s mercy is abundant. That rather than expose his children to shame, God offers them a hiding place. David invites his fellow children to trust God’s mercy and take refuge in him. Don’t bear the burden of your sin, says David to all God's children throughout history. Come clean.