Show and Tell
Show and Tell
Psalm 51:16 For you will not delight in sacrifice, or I would give it; you will not be pleased with a burnt offering.
Do you remember the elementary school days when the teacher would declare that Show and Tell day would be coming soon? In case you are a young whipper snapper and don’t know of such shenanigans, this event involved bringing an item to school and telling the story which connected to the item. Some show offs even brought an actual person with them. No one really knew if the story was true or accurate. You would be graded upon how well you told the story and not honesty.
Several verses before this one, David declared he had sinned against God and God alone. Many people when their secret sin is exposed will place more value upon the effect this has upon the significant humans in their lives. This does not lead to true brokenness but to fear of losing someone or something worldly. If this is the case then we will move into an adult version of show and tell. When we lose something or someone we will progress through the stages of grief. One of those stages is bargaining. Because we are operating out of fear, we begin to bargain through a list of promises. We promise to go to counseling, church 3 times a week, join an accountability group, confess my sins to all our family members and the list goes on. This appears to be a sound plan but remember in show and tell it is not about honesty but how well you sell your story. This list becomes a report card which is constantly evaluated. “You were late going to group. Did you even go to group? Did you tell the counselor about what you did to me 4 years ago?” This very quickly moves into resentments and feeling controlled. Why would David say God did not delight in sacrifices and burnt offerings? Didn’t God establish the sacrificial system? God does not want a do good checklist. He wants our hearts in the right place. I had a guy in a group several years ago who would do well for a while, stop coming to group and eventually relapse. He repeated this pattern for several months. I asked him if doing recovery and purity for his wife and family would be enough. He mistakenly said yes. My response was “so, how’s that working for you?” David will reveal what God delights in within the next verse but for now stop trying to play show and tell with God and others. It is not sustainable nor does it produce real change.
If you find yourself ready to address the secret sexual sin in your life, Perfect Hope offers a message of hope through our material and services. For more information about our Blessing of the Thorn Course click here. To learn more about how sexual affects the Christian click here for your copy of The Blessing of the Thorn ebook.
Jonathan Jones, President and Founder of Perfect Hope Ministry
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