Today's readings are 2 Samuel 11.1-27 and 1 Corinthians 11.17-34.
In 2 Samuel 11 we see David entering into sin by taking the wife of Uriah the Hittite in adultery and then arranging for Uriah's death when he could not make it appear that the child of the adultery was Uriah's child. It's easy to criticize a lot of people involved in the situation. But rather than do that, I'd like to look at the kind of thought processes that go on when we enter into sin.
First, let's make it quite clear, in all probability Bathsheba was engaging in a ceremonial washing and was up on her rooftop like any person would be in the early evening. This was not an example of her taking a bath or exposing herself to the king. Housetops were preferred places for catching cooling breezes in the evening, favored by all sorts of people. David did not go onto his rooftop to engage in girl-watching, either. Again, this seems to have been a chance encounter.
What do we do when we have a chance encounter with something that tempts us to sin? Of course, we normally walk away from it and are fine. But when we start dwelling on the opportunity, when we start carrying the possibilities around, pondering them, cherishing them, we are much more likely to pursue them.
What happens next? It is not at all uncommon that we start manufacturing ways to conceal the sin, explain it away, or both. This is exactly what David did. Yet it resulted in his creating a set of circumstances that were harmful, not only to Uriah, but to Bathsheba and many of the people in the army with Uriah. He, after all, was not the only man to fall on the battlefield. He was not the only person with a family.
When we fall prey to temptation we don't always end up creating such a tangled web as David did. That's a good thing. But it's also a bad thing. The fact that I can enter into sin, minimize the consequences, and go my merry way means I tend not to be brought to true repentance. I don't see my sin as truly evil before a righteous God. I have won the battle for my own way. I have set a precedent that allows me to harden my heart toward God and toward others. I have made it easier to enter into the same sin or others again and again.
One of the traditional lines in a confession and absolution says, "I am heartily sorry for my sin." May we keep that "heartily" and not substitute "hardly."
In 2 Samuel 11 we see David entering into sin by taking the wife of Uriah the Hittite in adultery and then arranging for Uriah's death when he could not make it appear that the child of the adultery was Uriah's child. It's easy to criticize a lot of people involved in the situation. But rather than do that, I'd like to look at the kind of thought processes that go on when we enter into sin.
First, let's make it quite clear, in all probability Bathsheba was engaging in a ceremonial washing and was up on her rooftop like any person would be in the early evening. This was not an example of her taking a bath or exposing herself to the king. Housetops were preferred places for catching cooling breezes in the evening, favored by all sorts of people. David did not go onto his rooftop to engage in girl-watching, either. Again, this seems to have been a chance encounter.
What do we do when we have a chance encounter with something that tempts us to sin? Of course, we normally walk away from it and are fine. But when we start dwelling on the opportunity, when we start carrying the possibilities around, pondering them, cherishing them, we are much more likely to pursue them.
What happens next? It is not at all uncommon that we start manufacturing ways to conceal the sin, explain it away, or both. This is exactly what David did. Yet it resulted in his creating a set of circumstances that were harmful, not only to Uriah, but to Bathsheba and many of the people in the army with Uriah. He, after all, was not the only man to fall on the battlefield. He was not the only person with a family.
When we fall prey to temptation we don't always end up creating such a tangled web as David did. That's a good thing. But it's also a bad thing. The fact that I can enter into sin, minimize the consequences, and go my merry way means I tend not to be brought to true repentance. I don't see my sin as truly evil before a righteous God. I have won the battle for my own way. I have set a precedent that allows me to harden my heart toward God and toward others. I have made it easier to enter into the same sin or others again and again.
One of the traditional lines in a confession and absolution says, "I am heartily sorry for my sin." May we keep that "heartily" and not substitute "hardly."
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Dave Spotts
blogging at http://capnsaltyslongvoyage.blogspot.com
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