Dear Richard,
When people make repeated mistakes, they probably think that they can get away from the consequences. They will try hard to cover up what they have done. Of course, they know what they have done is wrong. But, they are not brave enough to face their mistakes and correct them. It is very bad and serious. This thinking and behaviour could push one to commit sin deeper and deeper.
Once upon a time, there was a thief. He stole things from his neighbours and hadn't ever been caught. Initially, what he stole was small things. One after another, he was getting more and more greedy.
One day, he found out that there was a big copper bell inside the village temple. He thought that if he could get the bell back home and broke it down into pieces, he would have big money from selling the pieces of copper. That night, as previously, he had no problem in stealing the big copper bell back home. However, when he tried to break the bell into pieces, he started worrying that the noise would awake his neighbours.
After a while, he got an idea. He thought, 'If I close up my ears when breaking the copper, I can't hear the noise. So, it shouldn't be heard by my neighbours as well.' He was so happy and did accordingly what he thought. The noise was so loud that the whole village followed the noise and came to his home, while he was still working hard in breaking the copper.
Richard, instead of thinking covering up mistakes, I would advise one to recognize them and correct them. What do you think?
With love, Dad