David went to great lengths to conceal his adultery. Sinners often think they can get away with their sins. They may be able to deceive other people and go unnoticed, but God always sees and knows. Many people sin anyway because they either do not believe in Him or are convinced that He does not mind. They have convinced themselves that there are no consequences to sin. One of the catch phrases of the so-called “sexual revolution” of the sixties that justified “free love” was “Do your own thing so long as it doesn’t hurt anybody.” Today we see the consequences in the high rate of divorce, the breakup of families, abortion, the acceptance of immorality as the norm and the widespread incidence of sexually transmitted diseases including AIDS. Sin always hurts someone and it always has consequences.
If we don’t think that sin hurts anyone, we should think again. God is hurt by every sin because every sin is an affront to His holiness and goodness and a rejection of His wisdom and lovingkindness. And look at the suffering that results from David’s sin. Since the Lord forgave him, we might think he got off easy. But did he? His sin had adverse and tragic consequences for his family and so for him. Nathan told him of the calamities and bloodshed that would befall his own household because of his sin. Then Nathan told him that the son born of the sinful liaison with Bathsheba will fall gravely ill and die. Some might think the Lord cruel for taking that innocent life. He is not. We just fail to see how serious our sins are and the unforeseen effects they can have on our loved ones. Rather than question God, we ought to repent and change our ways.
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