I was reminded again today of Edgar Allan Poe’s classic short story The Tell-Tale Heart. I can remember being in Homeville Jr. High (PA) and hearing it for the very first time. “Creepy” was my first reaction.  But as I got older and (supposedly) more mature, and now that I am in my 70s, I saw and still see the truth of the story and the result of the tell-tale heart.

I’ll encourage you to find the story online and read it. Short synopsis: one man kills an old man, hacks him to pieces and then buries him beneath the floorboards. The police come to investigate and the man is so cocksure of himself that sits with them in the room where he is buried and then sits in a chair above the spot. As the interview progresses, the man begins to hear what is a beating heart. It gets louder and he can’t understand why the police cannot hear it. He finally breaks and confesses.

Guilt does that. I cannot even begin to tell you how many times I read David’s words in Psalm 32:3-5 to myself and to others: “When I refused to confess my sin, my body wasted away, and I groaned all day long. Day and night your hand of discipline was heavy on me. My strength evaporated like water in the summer heat. Finally, I confessed all my sins to you and stopped trying to hide my guilt. I said to myself, ‘I will confess my rebellion to the Lord.’ And you forgave me! All my guilt is gone.” (NLT)

David lays out what we should know and have probably experienced: Guilt is a killer. It kills our heart. It kills our happiness. It kills our joy. It kill our peace. It’s like this scepter sitting on our shoulder (only it’s in the heart) whispering in our ear, “You’re done. It’s all over.  You’ll never survive. You’ll never recover. You’ll never get better. You’ve ruined everything.”

L.I.E.S.   ALL   L.I.E.S.

Guilt finds its release at the foot of the cross. Jesus took care of that guilt and shame and offers His forgiveness. Take it. Stop carrying around the extra baggage.