"Military leader killed in line of duty; his wife has an affair with his Commander." "Man rapes his half-sister." "Man murdered by enraged half-sister's brother." "Man flees to escape revenge and his own death." "Son returns with plans to overthrow his father's throne." No, these are not themes for a new TV crime series or movie box-office hit, but they may have been the headlines in the Jerusalem Journal during the reign of King David!
The book of 2 Samuel highlights the vital importance of the choices we make. We learn that 1) blessing comes to us and those around us when we choose to obey God's commands. 2) There are always consequences to the sinful actions we choose to partake in and 3) When we choose to repent, our relationship with God is restored.
If you are familiar with the story of David and Bathsheba (2 Samuel 11-12), you know their affair led to cover-up attempts and eventually, murder. God was displeased and disappointed with the choices David had made and intervenes before more damage is done by sending the prophet Nathan to confront David of his sin. David repents, God forgives; but the consequences remain. In David's life we see the grace of God in action and David's life also gives us a sobering look at sin in action.
How did David's sin affect him and those around him?
1) Emotionally - One of the consequences of his sin was the death of the child he conceived with Bathsheba. "David pleaded with God for the child. He fasted...and spent the nights lying on the ground. The elders stood beside him to get him up from the ground, but he refused, and he would not eat any food." (2 Samuel 12:16-17). David was emotionally spent and filled with grief.
2) Physically - David wrote Psalm 32 during this time. In verse 3, he describes how his body dealt with the guilt he was carrying - "When I kept silent my bones wasted away through my groaning all day long." Up until this point David had not confessed his sin to God and his body was being affected. The stress of covering up our sin can and will have physical ramifications.
3) Spiritually - David goes on in verse 4, of Psalm 32, to describe - "For day and night your hand was heavy upon me; my strength was sapped as in the heat of summer." God's conviction was weighing heavy on David. His sin had separated him from the God he loved and sought after all his life.
4) Relationally - Another consequence was the impact his sin had on his family. The "headlines" I stated at the beginning were all events that happened in David's family after his sin with Bathsheba. Sin and its consequences will always affect others - sin is not committed in a vacuum.
5) Financially - David's sin also affected the nation of Israel. With all the drama going on in David's life and family, the nation must have suffered. 2 Samuel 21:1 states that there was a famine in the land for 3 successive years. Men from other tribes rebel against David (2 Samuel 20). What once was David's pride - a strong and united nation - is now suffering because of his sin.
My question is - Do we learn from the consequences of others' sins or do we as a society tend to glamorize it? Think about the TV shows that highlight "reality"? Many of them seem to make light of sin, ignore its consequences and give the message that if you're good looking, have money and can talk your way out of trouble, you'll make it in the world unscathed. Other shows highlight sex, drugs/drinking and irresponsible behavior with little attention to the affects these "unrealistic" shows have on its viewers - many times, young viewers. Yet, I must say that shows like 16 and Pregnant and Teen Mom (MTV) have done a decent job of showing the not so glamorous side to teen promiscuity and the parenting challenges young teens face.
So, do you learn from others consequences? We watched as the Tiger Woods' saga unfolded and saw how his sin affected him financially and tore his family apart. We see a young and talented Lindsay Lohan unravel before our eyes. We witness spiritual giants lose their ministries and athletes destroy their bodies all because of choices they make; many times without giving any thought to the consequences of their actions. I hope we are able to learn from these examples. I hope we will see the devastation sin and its consequences can bring and not fall into the Enemy's trap. The story of David and Bathsheba was put in the Bible for a reason. I believe 1) to show us that God does not let sin go unpunished and 2) that with repentance and God's forgiveness, once a failure is not always a failure.
BLOG QUESTION: Share your comments about the following statement: Sin will take you further than you thought you'd stray; keep you longer than you thought you'd stay; and cost you more than you thought you'd pay.
8 comments:
My word is Believe not sure if this is where i post it but this is my word
Yes sin in my life, it begins with my marriage unequally yoked and i have paid dearly for this and i do understand why God said it would be right to be equally yoked also that side of the world pulls you in easy especially when you are not in Gods word to resist that temptation and then you have children and they suffer and they have children and they suffer too just because of one not obeying Gods word that is why i now have my word to believe and look to Gods blessings to my generations through trying to obey his commandments and in return he promises me there will be blessings in my family one day thank you Laurie Norgren
I can honestly say that I walked full fledged into sin fully knowing the truth and it definitely took me further than I thought and kept me longer than I thought and cost me in many ways. I have since learned from my mistakes and have grown tremendously from feeding on his word and living in his ways. I pray for my children to live in Christ.
The statement actually makes my heart hurt because I know to well what it means. I think the most painful part is seeing how my sins have affected others. I am thankful that I've learned from my mistakes and have grown in the Lord and still continue to grow.
Good comments! I know it's hard to look at our lives and see where our sin has affected those around us in a negative way. God wants us to learn from and move on...not dwell in regret.
You ladies are on the right track and no turning back :)
When I think about the blog question for this week I immediately think about addiction. When I worked my nursing job I took care of patients who were in recovery for addictions such as drugs and alcohol (among other medical issues). They were at a point where they were beginning to see the cost their addictions had tallied in their lives. They had more time for reflection since they weren’t pursuing the sin. They had all lost relationships, jobs, money, respect, appearances, health, happiness, and dignity. Their sin had taken them further than they ever could’ve imagined…some to theft and to homelessness. Their sin had lasted far longer than they dreamt…years and years wasted in an endless sinful pursuit. The cost was too much to even dwell on for most of these people because when they did for too long it was extremely hard to have any hope. When you are really exposed to these individuals and their stories, I do personally believe it acts as a dire warning to anyone about the consequences of sin.
I am just going to say that my parents sins have effect their lives, my life, my brother's live, my neice's life. My sins have effected myself and everyone that I love in one way or another. The sin is forgive but the concequences never end. A little sin goes a long way, lasts a lot longer then you ever think it will and can cost you everything important to you.
I can definetly relate to this quote! It's so true! As I look back at some of my sins I can see how it started out small but eventually over took me. I'm just thankful we have a forgiving God who never walks away from us and is ALWAYS there holding one end of a rope with the other end being down in the ditch that we seem to dig ourselves in.
Wow, this was such a hard one for me personally! When David lost his first born because of sin, it brought me back to a very painfull time in by life 29 years ago when I lost my first born daughter, Rebecca at age 14. I had a huge sin in my life at that time and even though I have asked and received forgivness, I often wonder if this happened to me because of my sin. Does God still punish us today like he did in David's day, with death, did my sin cause my daughter's death. It so hurts me to think of this in that way butt...
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