More Dirty Laundry?!

"As Tamar was brought out, she sent a message to her father-in-law, "I am pregnant by the man who owns these," she said.  And she added, "See if you recognize whose seal and cord and staff these are."
Judah recognized them and said, "She is more righteous than I, since I wouldn't give her to my son Shelah!"  Genesis 38:25-26

More Dirty Laundry!?
By Rev. William Dohle

Pressed to each and every one of our faces lies what could only be called a mask.  It is the mask of our public self.  This mask we wear every day we step out in public.  It has what we want others to know about us written on it.  The face we wish to portray to the world.

"I am kind," it says to the world.  "And considerate, and modest.  I am capable and reliable.  I am a confident person and I can take care of myself.  I have no problems."

But hidden, deep under that mask, lies a person scarred by life.  Hidden under that false front lies the hurt and betrayal, past mistakes, broken relationships, and unfulfilled dreams we call carry.  Under that mask may lie some abuse and neglect, guilt and shame.  Things we wish we hadn't said or done.  Things we wish we could do over.  Avoided in public, these things still have a place in our life, even if it is only in our past.

Sometimes, despite our best intentions, that private person shows his face through the mask we try to keep up.  Our mistakes become public.  And the stench from our private dirty laundry, the things we wish to avoid, overwhelms the public perfume we have put on.

At such times we may think we are a hopeless failure.  We have failed and fallen further than anyone.  Further than even God cares to venture.  Often when that happens we pull away from life, from family, even from the church because, after all, nobody has the problems or has made the mistakes that we have, right?

If you find yourself in such a position, take heart!  God understands.

You see, God is use to the dirty laundry of his people.  He's use to mistakes and stupid decisions.  He's use to things not going right.

In fact, he's known to work through those very things.  Take the story of Tamar for example.  Now here's a piece of Judah's dirty laundry if there ever was one.

The story is kinda complicated.  Tamar's husband dies and, per the custom of the land, she is to be wed then to one of her brother-in-laws in order to produce a child to be deemed his.  Unfortunately, things don't go right for poor Tamar.  Two brothers die on her and the third brother is too young to be wed.  Frustrated, Tamar agrees to wait until Judah, her father-in-law, figures something out.  Only, Judah doesn't really care about Tamar too much so Tamar is forced to take matters into her own hand.  She tricks Judah into getting her pregnant and giving her a seal as a pledge of his faithfulness.  Then, when Tamar is brought forth under adultery charges, she shows Judah the pledge and is granted life.

Follow it?  No?  Well, that's dirty laundry for you!

The short of it, though, is that, despite all this dirty laundry, Tamar becomes the great-great-great-great grandmother of David and thus the distant ancestor of Jesus Christ himself!  Tamar!  The woman who tricked Judah!  Tamar is the ancestor of the Messiah!  For out of Tamar and Judah come Perez and from Perez, way down the line, is born David and ultimately Jesus Christ!

You see, God used Tamar's trickery and cunning.  He used this mistake of the patriarch to change the world.  Without Tamar and without this piece of dirty laundry, the Messiah himself would not have been born.  We wouldn't be where we are today.  It was because of her brashness to take matters into her own hands that we have David and Jesus Christ!  Maybe that's why Judah calls her righteous.  "She is more righteous than I!"

If God can use this event to alter the course of human history, He can use your dirty laundry to change lives too!  Paul reminds us: "We know that in all things God work for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose." (Rom. 8:28).  God can use you for good, just as you are.  Stinky laundry and all.  There is no event He can't work through.  There is no mistake that is past erasing.  There is no hurt that is beyond healing.

And through those hurts and pains and mistakes, God is able through you to touch others who have going through the same things you are going through.  Through those mistakes, God is able to make some good come out of things.  Maybe not even in our lifetime or in our children's lifetime.  But in God's time.   

God of Tamar, make us bold in living and confident in your grace.  Take our dirty laundry and use it for good that others might come to know and trust in you, through Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen.