Read: Joshua 7
Sin always gets exposed. We can try to cover it up. We can try to hide it. And it might work…for a while. But even when man doesn’t see it- God does. Nothing is hidden from His sight. What is covered will be uncovered.
In Joshua 7, we see God as a leader who is willing to face areas of sin in the lives of his people head on. He doesn’t shy away from the hard conversation. He doesn’t let it just sit there in their midst and ignore it. He calls it out. Why? Because the sin in Israel’s camp had led to their defeat and He knew – the only way to find victory again was to remove it.
Proverbs 25 verse 4 tells us that before material can be used to make a vessel, the dross must be removed. “Dross” is anything foreign that doesn’t belong there, mineral waste that impurifies, and scum. Malachi 3 calls God a “refiner’s fire” who purifies us like silver. He is not one to act like sin is not present or to “turn a blind eye” to areas in our lives where we have compromised and strayed from what we know to be truth. He loves us too much for that. Areas of sin that are ignored and unchecked in our lives will always come with a cost. Knowing this, what good father would sit silently by and do nothing?
If I saw my child running into a busy road and did not do something to stop them – I would be a horrible parent. The same truth applies here. Hebrews 12:6 says that God disciplines those He loves. It goes on to say that discipline is a mark of sonship. God exposes sin so that it can be dealt with before the cost of our sin becomes greater than we can bare.
A number of years ago, I had reached the end of my patience and decided to call a “family meeting” in the living room to address the negative behaviors I had begun to see in my children. I was not happy. After weeks of rude comments, attitudes, complaining, and eye-rolling – I was ready to dish out groundings and chores and give the best lecture of my motherhood career. When they all sat down in the living room, I took a deep breath and dove in. I complained about their complaining, I rolled my eyes when I brought up their eye rolling, and every word coming out of my mouth was drenched in bad attitude. I finished my lecturing with a question:
“Why are you acting this way?”
I was hoping it would sit in the air between us all and fester. I wanted it to “dawn on them” that there was absolutely no reason for the way they were behaving. But then my sweet and always truthful Jordan spoke up.
“Mom? Well, maybe if you weren’t on your phone so much, you would pay more attention and know why we are acting like this.”
Ouch. Burn. Sting. Hello, conviction. Humbled, I released the kids to go play and got down on my knees before the Lord. I secretly hoped that He would justify my phone usage – it was always for work, not entertainment – and somehow condone my behavior. But He didn’t. He loves me too much to act like I’m right when I’m not. There in that place of prayer, He used the words of my young son to call me out and remind me what life was supposed to be about. He came like refining fire and removed my dross. He exposed the sin in my camp. The result? Victory. As I repented and refocused my life around the things that matter most, all the behaviors that had been so prevalent in our home prior to our family meeting dissipated and I found myself so incredibly thankful for a Father God who loves me enough to have the hard conversations and deal with the things in my life that need to be dealt with.
Journal:
Are there areas of sin on my life or in my home that I have been shying away from instead of dealing with?
Are there conversations that I know I need to have with others that I have been avoiding because I know they are going to be hard? Is this a pattern in my life. If so, why do I do this?
How do I respond to correction? How do I handle it if someone calls me out? Am I defensive? If so, why do I think I am that way?