...desire is irrelevant. I am a machine...

"...desire is irrelevant.  I am a machine..."

Apparently this is a quote by Arnold Schwarzenegger in the movie Terminator 3.  I haven't seen Terminator 3.  Actually, I didn't even know T3 existed!  I thought T2 was already pushing the envelope a bit....And apparently the ex-Governor was in an affair that his wife didn't know existed.  Well, maybe she did.  Maybe she didn't.  I think she did.  And apparently, unlike his statement in T3, desire IS relevant!

I am not here to kick Arnold & his wife.  I like Arnold.  God loves Arnold.  He was actually my Governor for 9 months of my life while I was a California resident.  However, there is a valuable lesson that we can learn form his life. 

The Bible says - "Be sure your sin will find you out..."  Arnold had a secret.  A hidden sin.  It probably started with a small thought.  A small plan.  A small idea.  A small lust.  Then it grew.  Though it was apparently "covered" for 10-11 years.  It eventually was discovered.  We all know about it.  The world knows about it.  He had a hidden sin.  No one knew of his affair.  It was a secret.  Covered.  Concealed.

Proverbs says, "Whoever covers over his sins does not prosper. Whoever confesses and abandons them receives compassion."  What would have been the result, if Arnold had a safe friend.  A place to share.  A place to confess and abandon his sins?  Had he a core group or friend where he could have said, "hey, I am having thoughts about this woman..."  His friends could have stepped in and rebuked him and helped him and maybe we would not be using him as an analogy today. 

What about me?  What about you?  Do you have any small secret sins?  Cheating on taxes?  Visiting web sites you know are not healthy?  Stealing pencils from work?  Small "white" lies - daily?  We have to expose these sins.  We have to confess and abandon them to others.  I am not suggesting you post it as your Facebook status.  That would be dumb.  But you need a friend or 2 that are safe.  That you can trust.  And you need to tell them.  Tell them about the thoughts you are having about the secretary at work.  Tell them about the inappropriate texts.  The inappropriate emails.  Tell them about the sodas you keep taking from the snack shack @ work.....whatever it is.  No matter how small the sin is in your eyes - you need to confess it.  You need to abandon it; because if you don't, your SIN WILL FIND YOU!  And it is a lot easier to deal with your sin in private with a small group of close friends than when things are full blown on a stage and the whole world is watching you try to escape from your sin...