Clean Hands, Corrupt Heart

“The sacrifice of the wicked is abomination: how much more, when he bringeth it with a wicked mind?” (Pr 21:27 AV)

 This proverb can be a very convicting one.  The wicked mind here is a mind that is planning a wicked thing.  This is a step down from Proverbs 15:8.  This offering is offered to atone for sin all the while having no intent on ceasing from sin or to go so far as to have an intent of more sin.  This is not simple insincere repentance.  This repentance is not merely feigned repentance.  This repentance is a mockery.  This association with sin all the while having no intent on ceasing from it is more than an insult to the LORD.  But how can this be the case of the believer?  Surely, we can see this in the falsely religious.  They go to the church services on their assigned day and before the day is through, they have indulged in some debauchery.  I know a bit about this.  The hypocrisy is intolerable.  Saying grace at a table and then getting drunk during the meal comes to mind.  We point at false religion as the biggest culprit of all this, but one wonders if the people of God are guilty of the same thing.  Do the people of God come to church on Sunday, read our bibles, pray while confessing our sin; all the while have no real intent in fighting the sin of which we just confessed?

I grew up Catholic.  I know my experiences may not be exactly the same as others, but it does go to illustrate the above point.  The practice I hated the most was the confessional booth.  I cannot remember the rule but as I seem to remember, there were so many times one was required to go in a calendar year.  Having gone to Catholic schools, we would actually go on a regular basis.  The Nuns would take us over (I think it was monthly, but I could be wrong) and the class would sit in the pews waiting our turn.  For those who have never had the experience, we would enter the booth and there was a screen between the penitent and the priest.  After a short standard phrase or two, the priest would ask us what we had done wrong.  We were asked to confess our sins.  Now, I don’t know how other young boys were, but I made up mine.  It was almost comical.  Like I really kept a tally of how many times I cursed, got angry, or lied to my parents.  Anyway, after the confession the priest would tell us to go back to our pew and say so many prayers.  The whole thing lacked sincerity and resolution.  Now, I am sure there are times when someone visits the confessional to truly seek relief from guilt.  The point is, how many times did I confess with no regard to ever-changing who and what I was?

Now that I am a true believer, I can ask the same thing.  How many times do I go to the LORD because I feel bad for something I have done, seek His forgiveness, and promise to forsake my sin, only to have it in the back of my mind to do it all over again?  How many times to I sit in remorse and guilt over what I have done only to have my conscience salved by a gracious God with no real intent of battling that sin to the bitter end?  Sometimes, all we want to do is feel better.  God, in His mercy and grace, forgives us.  But we turn right around and without any forethought, do it all again.  The proverb above teaches us that if we go with a broken heart,  something the Bible calls a sacrifice, and seek God’s favor only to have no real intent to seek His power to overcome it, we have done worse than insult Him.  This, above all else, should bother us.  More so than the sin from which we just confessed.  Do we really feel sorry for what we’ve done?  One of the hardest things my father ever said to me has stuck with me for over four decades.  Upon saying I was sorry for something that angered him, he said, “don’t say you’re sorry.  Just don’t do it again.”  I felt like I got slapped in the face.  That statement hurt more than a spanking ever would.  But that is exactly what the LORD is saying to us.  Stop saying you’re sorry and just don’t do it again.