It happened in the Garden first. At the moment sin entered God's perfect creation, the first man and woman saw their nakedness....
And they hid themselves.
They had believed the deception of the serpent, enticed by the luscious fruit on the tree and the promise of being like God, so they chose to disobey their Creator. What follows is the greatest tragedy in the history of mankind, as the course of history was forever changed by their decision to rebel. Immediately, their eyes were opened. They saw that they were naked. They were ashamed. They hid.
More specifically, out of their desperation and shame, they sewed a covering out of fig leaves to cover their nakedness. This was their first attempt at concealing, at hiding their shame from one another.
But they had a greater problem. Hearing the Lord God walking in the garden, they ran for cover in the trees, a second attempt to conceal their transgression. Didn't they know there is no hiding from the Almighty God? Surely they did, but that does not stop the desperate from trying anyway.
Thus began the art of concealing.
It is an art that has been attempted by all and mastered by many over the course of time. We become expert manipulators and chameleons, presenting what we hope others will believe about us, concealing what we hope they will never find out.
As children, it is unperfected: the toddler who attempts to sneak out of his bedroom after bedtime; the child who eats forbidden cookies but fails to wipe the chocolate from her mouth; the brother who hits his sister while mom is not looking.
As older children and teenagers, the skill is sharpened. The preteen girl learns to steal items by hiding them in her purse. The friends learn to sneak into a second and third movie at the theater. The boyfriend entices his girlfriend to sneak out of her house late at night.
As adults, the mastery is refined. The husband enters an adulterous relationship with the lady at work. The mom binges and purges day in and day out, desperate to reach that desired weight. The business associates pass trade secrets to one another.
But again, the problem still remains: there is no hiding from the Lord. He knows it all.
And then there is another problem. Try as we may, God never lets things remain hidden.