On a recent Sunday morning just before church, Belle the basset hound played outside on our back patio. When I told the kids to put Belle in her crate, Anne took a step forward, stopped suddenly, and screamed.
“No, Belle! Mom! No, Belle! MOM! Make her stop!”
I rushed over to see Belle pouncing playfully…on a little bird. Before we could stop her, Belle pinned the poor bird by the wings, and scooped it up in her mouth. Whole.
Nathan bolted outside, waving an angry finger in Belle’s face. “Drop it! Bad dog! Drop it!” Molly’s eyes welled up and she hid her face in her hands. Anne sobbed, “Our dog is a mur-der-er!”
I stood frozen, not sure what to do, and after a few seconds I told Nathan to stop scolding Belle. And then, we heard it. From within Belle’s clamped jaws came a muffled and panicked, “Tweet!” Tweet-tweet-tweet! Tweet-tweet-tweet-tweet-tweet! The bird was still alive in Belle’s mouth!
The rest was a blur, really. Consoling a heartbroken Anne, watching Belle spit a few feathers, and stifling a laugh when the ever-practical Molly announced, “Well, I am not cleaning it up when she poops that thing out.” Finally, Belle was locked in her crate, and we hurried to church—though it was rather difficult to worship after witnessing a murder.
Later, I recalled the sad little tweets from inside Belle’s mouth, and I had to chuckle. Belle’s droll basset expression looked so innocent, even as her mouth hid the bird. “What’s all the fuss about?” she defended. “I didn’t do anything.” But the tweets told the truth.
Spiritually speaking, when it comes to my sin, don’t I respond just like Belle? When I harbor selfishness or anger in my heart—when I am jealous or slothful or proud—I try my best to hide the truth. I ignore my sin, and pretend like the guilt isn’t calling loudly. “I didn’t do anything.”
But secret sin isn’t secret to God. He hears it tweeting. Loudly. My honest confession leads to restoration. When I admit my guilt, God removes it, and trades it for the righteousness of Jesus. “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.” (1 John 1:9) Thank You, God, that when I confess, You make me–truly–just as though “I didn’t do anything.”
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