To be fully HUMAN — A Daily Reflection

 

 

2 Samuel 11 NIV

 

From the beginning, David was in trouble.  Every time he sinned, he reacted with another sin.  And with each progressive sin, he compounded the problem.  Before it was over with, he was guilty of lust, adultery, lying and murder.  To make things even worse, David’s sin caused others to sin also… Bathsheba committed adultery… Joab was an accomplice to murder… and at least two people died – Uriah and the baby that was born as a result of David’s adultery.  And it all started because David was in the wrong place at the wrong time. 

 

David could have stopped sinning at any point along the way.  The easiest point, of course, would have been when he first saw Bathsheba.  He could have turned away.  He didn’t have to ask who she was.  But the very act of inquiring about her identity weakened him just enough to allow the next sin to come in.  From that point on, the situation snowballed.  And with each progressive attempt to cover up what was going on, the sinning became easier and easier and easier… and turning away became even harder. 

 

Let’s say you have a weakness for gossip.  As a matter of fact, before you became a Christian, it was one of your favorite activities.  But after you were saved, you discovered in God’s Word that He ranks gossip right up there on a par with adultery and murder!  So, you made a commitment to stop gossiping.  

 

One day, you’re with a group of people, and the discussion turns to a mutual acquaintance and her activities.  You know you ought to just get up and walk away.  But you know something about this person that is really juicy!  And, oh, how you want to tell everyone else!  The secret is burning inside you like a branding iron, just dying to spill out!  But you decide to be a good Christian and not gossip.  Instead, you’ll just “share a prayer request.”  Pretty good, right?  That gets you off the hook, doesn’t it?   You tell yourself that you’re not really gossiping.  You’re concerned about this woman, right?  It doesn’t hurt to tell these other people something that is really damaging, as long as it’s in the form of a prayer request, right? 

 

What you’ve just done is start a situation that will snowball with each progressive step.  You’ve allowed yourself to be in the wrong place at the wrong time, opened yourself up to temptation, and then deliberately sinned.  The next step will be to cover up your sin by lying to the woman when she finds out you were talking about her.  See what happens? 

 

The first point is, don’t place yourself in harm’s way.  The second is, if you do sin, don’t compound the problem by stacking your sins one on top of another.  Just remember, although you should avoid sin in the first place, you can stop at any time.  The best time, of course, is in the beginning.

 

No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it.  1 Corinthians 10:13 NIV