Scotty’s Hat

“For I know my transgressions and my sin is always before me.”
Psalm 51:3 (NIV)

When I was young, I spent every Saturday with Mrs. Gunter while my mom worked. And Mrs. Gunter’s son, Scotty, had a hat that I really wanted. One day, I put the hat in with the clothes I had brought and stole it. 

I kept it for a week – the most miserable week of my life. I thought about Scotty’s hat at school, at home and outside playing. I lived in constant fear that my Mother would find it and my thievery would be exposed. The next Saturday when I stayed with Mrs. Gunter she asked me, “Have you by chance seen Scotty’s hat?” I couldn’t wait to have her accompany me back to my house so that I could get rid of that hat that I’d wanted so badly!

Hidden sin dominates your mind. Unconfessed sin not only affects you emotionally, but also affects the way you think. It consumes your thoughts. 

In today’s verse, King David laments about the guilt he carries in his heart. He had slept with another man’s wife. David’s sin was always in the back of his mind.

He describes the sin he had kept hidden as being “always before me.” For over a year, guilt haunted David. The old adage, “Out of sight out of mind” does not apply to sin in the life of a believer. Because you are created in God’s image, sin never feels quite right.  

Perhaps sin is affecting you. You may try to put it in the back of your mind, but it keeps coming up. You may be able to put it out of your sight, but you will not be able to permanently put it out of your mind because God loves you too much. And He says that sin does not have to dominate your mind. 

Allow His mercy to wash over your heart and mind today. You don’t have to carry the weight of unconfessed sin. Open your heart to God. Share with a trusted friend, and allow God’s heart of forgiveness to wash over you. And sin will not dominate your mind any longer. 

Prayer: Father, Thank You for the relief of forgiveness. I confess that I need You now. Wash over me, Holy Spirit. Direct me by Your love and Your truth, for I know I am safe in You. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.