Plaxico Burress Gets Two YearsFormer New York Giants player (and Super Bowl star) Plaxico Burress was recently sentenced to two years in prison for weapon possession and reckless endangerment. Last November, Burress entered a night club in Manhattan with a hidden gun tucked in his pants; he did not have a concealed weapons permit. Unfortunately, the gun somehow wiggled free, slid down the pants of Burress, and fired a bullet into his thigh. The pain and suffering involved in recovering from a bullet wound will now be followed by an even greater pain – caused by the two year separation from his wife and young child that Burress will have to endure in prison. All of this because Burress’ little secret managed to escape.
This is how it always goes down. Dirty little secrets come to light, and pain (both for those who sinned and hid it away, as well as for others around them) begins to mount up! Remember the biblical story of Achan (Joshua 7); he sinned against God and literally tried to hide his sin (the stolen plunder) in the ground within his tent. Achan’s sin couldn’t remain hidden, as it brought forth the deaths of many innocent people. In fact, Achan and his entire family were ultimately killed when Achan’s hidden sin became known to all!
Remember King David. He had an affair with Bathsheba, and he tried time and again to hide it from the world, which ultimately turned him into a murderer. But David’s sins (adultery and murder) certainly couldn’t stay hidden forever, and of course they raised their ugly heads when the prophet Nathan let the cat out of the bag. As a result, David lost an innocent son because of his secret sins (2 Samuel 11+12)!
Again, this is how it always goes down; people sin and think they can hide it from the world (including God himself), and then the sin comes to light and gets fired off like a bullet in the sinner’s own thigh, and all hell breaks loose! People get hurt! Innocent people suffer! The consequences of the previously “hidden” sin last a long time!
What might you be hiding? What areas of your life are sin and guilt ridden that you hope nobody (let alone God) is privy to? Before it’s too late, confess that sin immediately (1 John 1:9) and pray that the wake of the damage isn’t as bad as it could be! Don’t wait until the gun goes off. Don’t wait until your sin is exposed and the consequences are severe. Take care of it now, while you still can! God already knows everything you’ve done (and are doing) anyway, so why delay? You can’t hide anything from him, so come clean … before it’s forced upon you.
