ACNE: A PARABLE
by Matt Moser
January 2, 2008
When I was a teenager I had acne. It wasn't an especially bad case of acne, but it was still acne. You all have been there. You remember the feelings of horror and disgust when you looked into the mirror and saw a bright red blemish staring right back at you. You remember the bargaining you would do with your skin the night before a big event like a party or a date: "Oh, please, please, please, skin, stay clear... stay clear!"
But my desperate pleadings didn't avail me of the dreaded presence of pimples throughout those awkward years. I remember times when I would be so frustrated with my complexion that I would stare into the mirror and wish that I could grow facial hair better in order to cover up my acne infested skin.
Flash-forward ten years and I am now in my mid-twenties. And guess what I still get to deal with? Yup, acne. But now the joke is on the zits because I can totally just grow a little beard to cover up those horrible little blemishes. At last: Victory! Vindication! I can now hide those pesky imperfections in my skin from the sight of all eyes!
Unfortunately... I've also noticed that with the beard, my face doesn't get nearly as clean when I wash it at night. I guess the beard blocks some of the cleanser from reaching the skin. Here's the dilemma: if I hide my acne under a beard then it can't be cured by the facial cleanser. But if I want my skin to heal then that means I can't hide my shameful acne beneath a beard but I have to expose it to the world. The consequences of either decision are dire: if I keep the beard then I must deal with all of the coarseness and itchiness that comes with it. But if I shave the beard then the world will know that I'm a 26 year old man that still has skin problems. Neither consequence is particularly appealing to my sensibilities. This is my dilemma; this is my plight.
While it has been delightfully therapeutic to vent my skin-care frustrations with the entire wowgod.org readership, I must get to the point. You see, I entitled this little essay "Acne: A Parable" because I do see a parable in my skin-care woes that mirrors the dilemma we face in terms of our sin. When confronting our sin, we have the same two choices: either expose the imperfections of our lives before the eyes of the world or we hide them away. The consequences of the exposure of our sin may be shame, embarrassment, humiliation. But the consequence of our hiding our sin away is that it cannot be properly healed.
We can see this principle at work in the story of David's sin with Bathsheba in 1 Samuel 11-12. You can see how David, after his sexual act with Bathsheba, frantically did all he could to cover up and hide his sin. Though the way David attempted to cover up his sin was more drastic than what most of us attempt, I think we can see some parallels:
- Initially, David tried to cover up the pregnancy that was the result of his adultery with Bathsheba by deceiving people and trying to manipulate Bathsheba's husband, Uriah, to go and lay with his wife so that the conception would appear to be legitimate. I imagine all of us can look back and see ways that we have lied and manipulated people in attempts to cover up our sin.
- To cover up his sin, David had Uriah killed in battle. I think the vast majority of people reading this will have successfully avoided using murder to cover up sin. But, have we murdered someone's reputation in order to cover up our sin by pinning it on someone else? Have we murdered a girl's innocence by ogling at pornography? Have we murdered a relationship through gossip and judgmentalism?
- David's desire to hide his sin compromised not only David's integrity but also that of Joab his loyal friend and the commander of the army. David used Joab as a pawn to cover up his sin. How many times does our attempt to hide our sin cause us to abuse the relationships close to us and use people as pawns to cover up our sin? Has some variation of the words, "If you are truly my friend, you'll do this for me" ever escaped our lips? Instead of seeking out his friend to confess his sin and to receive healing and restoration, David used his friend as a tool to hide his sin.
We aren't that different from David. His story is our story. I think we can all look back at our lives and see a similar pattern of behaviors in our attempts to cover up our sins. We -- back to the parable -- try to grow out our beard to cover up the blemishes of our lives to protect us from the embarrassment and shame those blemishes cause.
Fortunately, God didn't allow David's sin to remain hidden. Though the exposure of his sin was difficult (a drastic understatement!), the prophet Nathan was able to offer the words of grace and forgiveness that all repentant sinners long to hear: "The LORD has taken away your sin." Going through the difficult exposure of his sin, facing the shame, embarrassment and judgment of his sin allowed David to be both healed and restored. His sin was not without dire consequence (he lost the child he conceived with Bathsheba), but his sin was forgiven and his life was touched by the grace of God. By ceasing his hiding, David could confess his sin, be cleansed of the guilt, and restored to relationship with God. Only when his sin was exposed could David be healed. Only once he ceased hiding, could he pen those words that still express the movements of the heart that is truly repentant:
Psalm 51:1-17 (NET) Have mercy on me, O God, because of your loyal love! Because of your great compassion, wipe away my rebellious acts! 2 Wash away my wrongdoing! Cleanse me of my sin! 3 For I am aware of my rebellious acts; I am forever conscious of my sin. 4 Against you -- you above all -- I have sinned; I have done what is evil in your sight. So you are just when you confront me; you are right when you condemn me. 5 Look, I was guilty of sin from birth, a sinner the moment my mother conceived me. 6 Look, you desire integrity in the inner man; you want me to possess wisdom. 7 Sprinkle me with water and I will be pure; wash me and I will be whiter than snow. 8 Grant me the ultimate joy of being forgiven! May the bones you crushed rejoice! 9 Hide your face from my sins! Wipe away all my guilt! 10 Create for me a pure heart, O God! Renew a resolute spirit within me! 11 Do not reject me! Do not take your Holy Spirit away from me! 12 Let me again experience the joy of your deliverance! Sustain me by giving me the desire to obey! 13 Then I will teach rebels your merciful ways, and sinners will turn to you. 14 Rescue me from the guilt of murder, O God, the God who delivers me! Then my tongue will shout for joy because of your deliverance. 15 O Lord, give me the words! Then my mouth will praise you. 16 Certainly you do not want a sacrifice, or else I would offer it; you do not desire a burnt sacrifice. 17 The sacrifices God desires are a humble spirit -- O God, a humble and repentant heart you will not reject.
May these words of David's be ours in those times when we find that his story has become our story, in those times of sin, in those times of broken intimacy with the Father. May we confess this psalm, along with David, so that we might take refuge in the words of the prophet Nathan who spoke to David and speaks also to us: "The LORD has taken away your sin." May we who fall be quick to repent so that the Father may be quick to forgive us and restore us to a place of intimate relationship with him through Jesus Christ in the Holy Spirit. Amen.
So... pass the shaving cream, please!
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