Proverbs 28:1, "The Tell-Tale Heart of the Sinner."

There is a familiar story called the "The Tell-Tale Heart." Most of you have probably heard about it. Let me very briefly summarize the story for you. This guy kills this other guy and buries him under his house (or some place like that). He thinks he got away with it, but he is soon haunted by the beating of the man's heart. He can "hear" it all day and night, thumping away under the floor boards. He basically goes nuts because he can't stand to "hear" the beating heart. He turns himself in and is convicted of murder (or something close to that). In the end, he didn't get away with it.

This story is as old as time. In fact, Solomon has a similar proverb (circa 1000 b.c.), and I imagine its root probably even pre-dates him. The point is obvious- unconfessed guilt is a heavy burden to bear. The man in the "Tell-Tale Heart," couldn't deal with the burden of murdering that guy, so he went nuts and eventually confessed. 

The proverb I want to comment on today is 28:1: 

v. 1 The wicked person flees when there is no one pursuing, but the righteous person is as confident as a lion (NET Bible). 

This is the "Tell-Tale Heart," of the Sinner. There are parallels to this proverb elsewhere in 28.

v. 13 The one who covers his transgressions will not prosper,but whoever confesses them and forsakes them will find mercy. (NET)

v. 17  The one who is tormented by the murder of another will flee to the pit; let no one support him. (NET)

This story has gotten so much play over the millennia because it speaks to an integral human byproduct- guilt. We are all guilty of doing bad stuff from time to time. Now, of course we are not all murders (literally), but we have some unconfessed sin. I mean, by very nature of being human we are sinners and have some guilt to confess. If we travel a lifetime (or any amount of time) without taking the time to confess our guilt before the Lord, we carry a heavy burden. Verse 1 is so poignant because it is true. The wicked may seem to get away with everything, but who knows the burden they carry.

I think you know what I am talking about- it all comes down to feeling, if we are being frank. We all like to feel "on the level," that everything is good, that I have my stuff together, that life is copacetic. But you know what it is like to have any burden hanging over you, you just don't feel "right." This is the plight of the murder, of the sinner, of the unconfessed... of most of us from time to time.

The point is this: if you have some issue, some unconfessed sin, take it up to God, and if possible, with the person you have the issue with. If it is merely a personal issue, then God is fine. No need to go on Oprah to air out your personal laundry (unless that is helpful in the healing process for you.) Either way, Solomon's point is clear. If you have some unconfessed stuff in your life, some problems that you are sweeping under the table, you are no doubt plagued by it in some way or another. Why not give that stuff up to God, it is painless and will help alleviate a huge chunk of burden and get you on your way to excellence again. So much so that you will have the confidence of a lion knowing that you are "all confessed up." You've got nothing to fear and nothing holding you back.

So go get 'em tiger.

PJ