And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather expose them. For it is shameful even to speak of those things which are done by them in secret. But all things that are exposed are made manifest by the light, for whatever makes manifest is light. – Ephesians 5:11-13
My grandma used to tell me that nothing good ever happened after 9:00 pm. Now she was raised in a different time, but I have heard that same sentiment repeated many times using midnight instead of nine. What is it about nighttime that prompts such a greater percentage of nefarious deeds?
There are certainly some practical reasons: not as many people around, visibility lower for being spotted, higher likelihood of being on mood or behavioral substances (alcohol or drugs), etc. However, these reasons are only the temporary and physical reflections that mirror the spiritual truths. In his gospel account John writes these words of Jesus in chapter 3 verse 20, “For everyone practicing evil hates the light and does not come into the light, lest his deeds should be exposed.” God created both the day and the night and both are good simply by virtue of being His creations. However, the night is often used as a “type” of hidden deeds or secrecy. Concealment is the true issue we’re dealing with here, not really the night itself.
Proverbs 28:13 says, “He who covers his sins will not prosper, but whoever confesses and forsakes them will have mercy.” Confession is good for the soul is more than a tired cliché. It is actually vital for true repentance and forgiveness. As long as we keep something hidden, we will continue to struggle with it. In the Old Testament story of Jacob, we read that God changed Jacob’s name to Israel. We see several examples of God changing people’s names to something more appropriate. However, in this case, I believe we see a deeper spiritual truth being highlighted.
In the Hebrew lexicon, the name Jacob means several things: supplanter (to supplant means to overthrow or ‘trip up’), deceiver, or trickster. This is the man that manipulated his brother Esau out of his birthright, and deceived his father to obtain the first-born blessing. He was not exactly a man of integrity. However, after being caught up in the natural consequences of his schemes, he became desperate to know God and continue the traditions of his father Isaac and his grandfather Abraham. He wrestled with an angel in order to obtain a blessing from God, and God made a decision to put his favor and blessings upon Jacob, but He needed to make a change to his name. Jacob means deceiver and God cannot bless deception! Therefore He changed his name to Israel to qualify him for blessings. Deception is done in the dark, but blessings are always bestowed in the light!
I have experienced this truth in my own life countless times. There have been several seasons of my life that I was wrapped up in different addictions or sinful lifestyles (pornography, gambling, etc) and I continued to experience failure after failure in overcoming them. I was adequately convicted in my choices but I failed all attempts at breaking free. However, the idea of broaching the subject with anyone else was unthinkable. The shame and reproach to which I thought I would be subjecting myself kept me from doing anything to shine light on it. I didn’t understand the power of accountability and the freedom that comes with it. The sooner we can drag it into the light, the sooner it can be resolved. Many times it isn’t that the other person will magically solve our issues, but rather that God sees our desire and efforts to illuminate what we had been trying to keep hidden. God won’t bless deception, but he will certainly provide strength to those who acknowledge their weaknesses and let the light shine on them.
Now, we shouldn’t just share our issues with anyone. I discovered pretty early that not everyone was “team Chris”, but there are a lot of people out there that want to see us succeed. Find a mentor. Find a true Christian friend that you can trust to be loyal, and open yourself up to accountability with them. Give that person the right to ask you about it. Give that person the right to correct you. Call that person to encourage you. Once I had found some accountability for myself, I found it much harder to sweep my discretions under the rug.
God has always intended that we use our fellow Christians as accountability. Proverbs 27:17 reads, “As iron sharpens iron, So a man sharpens the countenance of his friend.” That sharpening may even create some sparks, but once it is in the light, healing and freedom can truly begin!