Covering over sins?

Many will be familiar with the phrase: love covers over a multitude of sins (1 Peter 4:8), but what exactly does it mean?

Surely in the unfolding story of the Bible, sin is the problem. How can it be right to overlook it? Good counselling and good ministry must mean helping people identify their sin, combat their sin, repent of their sin and put on godliness instead. If sin is the problem and finding grace the solution, then won’t covering sin over simply bury the problem and leave it unresolved?

In making sense of this verse, Proverbs may help. For Peter, it seems, is borrowing from Proverbs 10:12 where we read that ‘Hatred stirs up conflict, but love covers over all wrongs’. The context it seems is the life of a community where hospitality (1 Peter 4:9), the use of gifts (v.10) and speaking God’s word (v.11) are key elements. And in this context of church community Peter says we are to ‘love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins’ (v.8).