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YOU CAN’T CARRY SIN AND PROSPER “He that covereth his sins shall not prosper: but whoso confesseth and forsaketh them shall have mercy.” — Proverbs 28:13 -- Sin is heavy. -- You may hide it from your family, your church, or your friends, but you cannot carry sin without it affecting your life. God plainly says the man who “covereth his sins shall not prosper.” To cover your sins means more than simply keeping them secret. It means trying to conceal, deny, excuse, justify, minimize, or blame someone else for what you have done rather than honestly acknowledging it before God. Covering says, “It wasn't that bad,” “Everybody does it,” “They made me do it,” or “Nobody needs to know.” Confession says, “I sinned.” Forsaking says, “I don't want to continue in it.” Sin eventually changes more than what you do. It changes you.-- Sin affects your attitude. -- It produces guilt, defensiveness, anger, bitterness, dishonesty, and excuses. Instead of admitting wrong, we begin defending it. David described what unconfessed sin did to him: “When I kept silence, my bones waxed old through my roaring all the day long” (Psalm 32:3).-- Sin can affect your health. -- Scripture does not teach that every sickness is caused by personal sin. But it does show that sin can bring physical consequences. Guilt, drunkenness, drugs, sexual immorality, uncontrolled anger, and other sinful habits can damage the body. Paul warned, “For this cause MANY are weak and sickly among you, and MANY sleep” (1 Corinthians 11:30). -- Sin changes your direction. -- You seldom wake up one morning and suddenly destroy your life. Usually it happens one compromise at a time. One lie requires another lie. One secret becomes another secret. One sinful relationship leads to another compromise. Before long, you are going somewhere you never intended to go. “Let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us.” — Hebrews 12:1 KJV God does not tell us to manage it, excuse it, rename it, hide it, or learn to carry it.-- He says LAY IT ASIDE.-- You cannot run well while carrying what God told you to put down. If you belong to Christ, sin does not take away your salvation, but it can rob you of fellowship, joy, peace, usefulness, testimony, blessings, and even years of your life. Stop asking, “How much sin can I get away with?” Ask instead, “Why would I carry something that is destroying me?” Confess it. -- Forsake it. -- Put it down. You cannot carry sin and prosper.