RUN LIKE A CHAMPION

At first it was only a look. Then a desire. Finally, adultery. Sin conceived in the heart brought forth shame in the life of the man after God’s own heart. But the tragedy didn’t stop with betrayal and the lack of faithfulness. Sin can’t be left alone. Without confession and repentance, sin will continue to grow until it destroys everything good and decent within us.
So it happened with David. Adultery — as terrible as it was — couldn’t be contained. Things got even worse with David. A thirst for evil replaced a hunger for God. Adultery grew into conspiracy. And an evil scheme became a treacherous act of murder. How could such a thing happen to one of God’s choicest servants? The answer ought to cause every follower of Christ to walk in humble, daily dependence on God.
Notice the progression of David’s sin. First he looked on Bathsheba. Then he desired her. Finally he acted on his lusts. At any point, David could have confessed his sin and repented. Once he looked and saw her bathing, he could have turned away. But he didn’t. He could have confessed his thoughts to God and sought deliverance. But he didn’t. Instead, wrong thoughts became lusts, and lust became adultery.
At that point David could have gotten honest with God and himself. He could have confessed what he’d done and repented. But he didn’t. He tried to cover up his sin. He sent for Uriah, Bathsheba’s husband, and told him to go home to his wife. “Then David said to Uriah, ‘Go down to your house and wash your feet.’ So Uriah left the palace, and a gift from the king was sent after him” (2 Samuel 11:8). David wanted Uriah to have sex with his wife so what David had done wouldn’t be discovered. If Bathsheba became pregnant, Uriah would think it was his baby.
But Uriah didn’t go home. He slept at the entrance of the palace. That gave David another chance to confess and repent. But he didn’t. Instead a conspiracy was born in his heart: He would have Uriah killed on the battlefield. David told Joab, “Put Uriah in the front line where the fighting is fiercest. Then withdraw from him so he will be struck down and die” (2 Samuel 11:15). An accidental look would turn into a cruel murder. Just a few weeks earlier, David would never have dreamed that he was capable of such an act. His ministry and life would never be the same.
The great tragedy of David’s sin is that at any one of several points, he could have repented. He had ample opportunity, but he harbored the sin in his heart. The darkness of his sin clouded the heart that had once passionately sought God. When a leader or Christian worker is exposed in the snare of sin, it’s usually not a one-time problem. Most often other things have been festering a long time.
There’s one great truth here for every follower of Christ: Sin must never be harbored in the heart. We will all sin — all stumble. But we must be quick to repent and make things right with God and our fellow man. Sin left to itself will only grow — and ultimately destroy us spirituality. Grace and mercy await the honest, broken, and repentant heart. But death and destruction lie in the dark corners of unconfessed sin.
If an evil thought or desire has entered your heart, run to the cross in a spirit of brokenness. For “a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise” (Psalm 51:17).