Cat fights result in bites and scratches filled with germs. But cat skin heals quickly—sometimes faster than the underlying infection—creating an abscess. To heal it, the vet will drain it. In serious cases the vet will stitch a piece of plastic in place to hold the wound open, ensuring the fluid continues to drain. Abscesses kill; an abscess killed Dutch.
Sin is the same. It festers.
“When I kept silent about my sin, my body wasted away, my bones became brittle. I groaned all day long. Day and night Your hand was heavy on me. My strength was drained as in the fever heat of summer” Psalm 32:3-4.
When you ignore sin, it festers like bacteria under the skin. And because of the mind-body connection, hidden sin will damage your health. David says his bones became brittle, he groaned all day long, and God’s hand was heavy on him. Even his strength was drained as if he had worked all day in the summer’s heat. In both Psalm 32 and Psalm 51, David speaks of broken and crushed bones. Killing Uriah and having an affair with Bathsheba left David so broken, so INFECTED, he groaned as if his bones were crushed and broken.
Sin sickens. Many sins directly cause illness. Alcohol causes cirrhosis of the liver. Smoking causes lung cancer. Gluttony causes obesity. STDs (the CDC says “there are DOZENS of STDs”) cause numerous genitourinary conditions, resulting in infertility, mental problems, heart disease, blindness, liver cancer, and death. But all sins have consequences. Lying and stealing, and other sins that may not directly cause illnesses will nevertheless adversely affect your health because they increase guilt, stress, and anxiety.
God can forgive and restore. After David confessed his sin with Bathsheba, he discovered the joy of being forgiven:
“How joyful is the man whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered!” Psalm 32:1.
God, never let us hide sin in our hearts. Remind us to come to you and confess sin daily. Heal us. As David prayed in Psalm 51, ‘Let the bones which Thou hast broken rejoice.’
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