AN UNEXPECTED DANGER
On Wednesday, October 4, 2014 an Athens County Sheriff pulled up on the scene of four dead deer along the highway. At first he believed that the deer had been hit by oncoming traffic, but upon further inspection he found no blood, no torn fur, or any damage of any kind. The only conclusion he could come to was that the deer had jumped to their death from the overpass that crossed the highway.
It seems that the deer had ventured out onto the freeway as they often do without any concern for the possible dangers. The deer probably journeyed a little ways down the highway until they made their way to the overpass. It was then that they most likely encountered an oncoming vehicle that startled them. In their haste to escape the sudden danger the deer leaped over the rail and plunged to their death. In essence they jumped from the frying pan into the fire.
WE TOO CAN BE CARELESS
In so many ways we find ourselves responding to our circumstances just like these deer. We step out into the world and we venture along with little or no consideration to the possible danger that we can put ourselves in. Then, when danger rears its ugly head we respond impulsively, irrationally, and emotionally.
Think about the following situation:
Two couples begin a friendship and enjoy spending a lot of time together. They spend time at one another’s homes. They do activities centered around one another’s children. Over time they begin to go on weekend getaways and vacations together. Up to this point things seem rather ordinary.
The underlying story is that the husband from couple one and the wife from couple two have developed an unhealthy relationship. In the beginning of their families’ friendship they enjoyed making small talk with one another. It was a quiet reprieve from the tension that both were experiencing in their marriages. Friendly conversation led to a little innocent flirtation. It happened slowly but they began to secretly long for time when their families would get together because they craved the other’s company.
This situation is no different than a thousand other situations we could find ourselves in. When we do not take sin as serious as we should we fail to create safe boundaries. We dabble. We walk close to the line of compromise. And we flirt with the gray areas of life.
In a moment it seems that danger appears out of nowhere.
KING DAVID’S CARELESSNESS
This is exactly what happened to King David. It is commonly referred to as the story of David and Bathsheba.
The story tells us that King David had stayed at the castle at a time when other Kings led their armies into battle. While he was there he was walking around on the top of the castle and he observed a woman bathing. I do not believe that this was the first time that David had seen Bathsheba bathing.
David inquired about the woman and eventually sent for her. While she was a guest in the castle David had sex with this woman known as Bathsheba. Interestingly enough Bathsheba was not the wife of a stranger. She was the wife of Uriah the Hittite; one of David’s closest friends. The bible tells us in 2 Samuel 23:8-39 and 1 Chronicles 11:10-47 that Uriah was numbered among David’s Mighty Men; thirty-seven of his closest companions that came to him at a time when David could not move freely because he was being pursued by Saul. They went on to fight battles and win wars together.
After David’s tryst with Bathsheba she later sent word back to the King that she was pregnant. It is at this point that David did what the deer did that day on the overpass. He responded to the impending danger impulsively, irrationally, and emotionally. In essence he jumped over the rail with no idea what was on the other side. David, like the deer, jumped from the frying pan into the fire. His situation quickly went from bad to worse.
DAVID’S RESPONSE TO SUDDEN DANGER
When David heard the news of pregnancy he sent word to the soldiers and had Uriah brought home under the pretense that he wanted an update. When the king was finished with official business he gave Uriah permission to go home and be with his wife. David’s hope was that the two of them would have sex and the mystery of pregnancy could legitimately be explained.
David grossly underestimated the character of Uriah. Uriah slept at the gate and refused to go home. The next day David tried a new tactic and got Uriah drunk. Again, Uriah refused to go home. This was a man of honor, thus refusing to go home to be with his wife when his comrades were still on the battlefield.
When David came to the realization that his plan wasn’t going to work he switched gears. He decided to send Uriah back to the battle. He gave Uriah a note to be delivered upon his arrival. What he did not know is that he carried his own death sentence.
The note instructed the captains to fight where the battle was most fierce and to withdraw in the heat of battle leaving Uriah helpless to defend himself. The eventual outcome was that Uriah lost his life and David moved Bathsheba in as his wife.
THE END OF THE STORY
I would like to finish the story of the two couples that we introduced earlier.
The husband and wife from separate relationships that had begun to get so close to one another continued to pursue one another. The two gave into their desires to be together. Their secret longings turned into secret meetings. These secret meetings led to them leaving their spouses and beginning a new life together. All in the name of love.
Only love had nothing to do with it. The foundation of their relationship is built on betrayal. Betrayal towards their spouses and betrayal towards God. The slippery road to where they are began by not taking sin seriously.
Isn’t this however, what we see played out in the movies week after week. Abandon those that you have made a commitment to when true love finally shows up. After all, one’s soul mate only comes along once in a life time. This is the Hollywood mantra. But in real life it only leaves a wake of destruction.
Sometimes it is so easy to be pious about what we see as faults in other people, but we may not take sin serious in our own lives. When we don’t we allow ourselves to casually and carelessly stroll into harm’s way with total disregard for the dangers we may encounter. Leaving us vulnerable to our enemy’s traps.
SIN IS SERIOUS
Matthew 5:29-30…If your right eye causes you to stumble, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell. And if your right hand causes you to stumble, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to go into hell.
Matthew 18:8-9… If your hand or your foot causes you to stumble, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life maimed or crippled than to have two hands or two feet and be thrown into eternal fire. And if your eye causes you to stumble, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life with one eye than to have two eyes and be thrown into the fire of hell.
Matthew 18:6…“If anyone causes one of these little ones—those who believe in me—to stumble, it would be better for them to have a large millstone hung around their neck and to be drowned in the depths of the sea.
It doesn’t matter if one takes the above words of Jesus literally or figuratively. It is easy to tell that Jesus takes sin seriously.
Therefore, you and I should as well.
So often, we emphasize what happens to us in this world, but if we take to heart what Jesus says in the verses above we see that he believes what happens to us in this world pales in comparison to our standing in eternity.
ALWAYS REMEMBER
Sin will take you further than you wanted to go; keep you longer than you wanted to stay; and cost you more than you wanted to pay.
Written by Larry Westfall | © Copyright Finding Wonder 2014 | All Rights Reserved.
