What to do with Secrets

When we die, hidden things get exposed.

• Our journals…
• Our dresser drawers…
• Our computer history…
• Our credit card balances…

And every corner of every closet will be exposed.

Loved ones and strangers will sift and sort and dig and ultimately judge us by the contents of our treasures and our trash.

I know this because I have been the one to sift and sort through the stacks and shelves of dead men’s things. I have buried many who were close to me. They all left behind stuff that tells a story about the way they lived. The choices they made, the secrets they kept.

I found some amusing surprises: though my mom lived in her condo for seven years, her oven racks were still bound up in the original packaging. She had never turned on her oven!

I made some pleasant discoveries: a love letter I’d written to my husband decades earlier was tucked in the recesses of his wallet. He kept a Bible filled with personal notes and declarations.

I discovered reminders of glory days: boxes of photos; wedding dresses and pressed flowers; a high school letterman’s jacket, stiff with age, laden with medals.

And I made some ugly discoveries: overwhelming credit card balances and girly magazines.

Secrets don’t stay secret forever

Scary to consider, isn’t it?

But these questions are worth asking:

• When your office is emptied and your computer is scanned, what will someone find?
• What secrets will be discovered when your family rummages through your belongings and your bank statements?

Your legacy is determined by how you live now.

It’s important to make choices you can live with because they last long after you die. The body of work you create in the days on this earth could be overshadowed by the choices you make in the dark.

God sees all our secrets, and one day they will be revealed to the world.

As Jesus said in Luke 8:17, “There is nothing hidden that will not be disclosed, and nothing concealed that will not be known or brought out into the open.”

Secrets CAN lose power

God is calling us to get rid of our secrets and bring them out of the dark.

We start by confessing them to God.

We repent and ask for forgiveness.

Then we take responsibility for our actions. With some secrets we may need to seek help from a friend, pastor, or counselor. Ask God for self-control and a solution for restoration.

Next we commit to becoming accountable for our behavior.

That includes developing an action plan to keep us safe and begin the restoration. That also includes breaking attachments with things that can kill our bodies, minds, and souls; choosing to discard that which steals; and refusing to continue that which destroys.

Secrets lose power when we bring them out into the open.

Praise God!

Praise God for the new legacy he is creating for you!

Don’t live in fear of being found out.

The chains CAN be broken!

By making different decisions today and dealing with the secrets now, you can guarantee your legacy and reputation will be intact for as long as you live and long after you die.

And best of all, you will please God and open yourself to his greater work in your life.

Verse

“I strive always to keep my conscience clear before God and man.” —Acts 24:16

Prayer

Father, create in me a clean heart. Let me work with clean hands. Guide me to keep a clear conscience. I want to represent you well and leave a legacy of grace and righteousness. Help me to follow you all the days of my life so I can leave this life unashamed. Amen.