SIN WILL ALWAYS COST YOU MORE THAN YOU WANTED TO PAY

   It was in the spring of the year... when kings led their armies to war, and David had always done that because he was a self-confident and brave man... but in the spring of this particular year, he stayed home. I don't know why he stayed home, but I do know that he saw a woman bathing from his rooftop. He could see her easily because his rooftop was well above her and, for all we know, he may have watched her bathe before. He might have turned away when he saw her, but instead he took in her beauty and decided to have her for himself. So, he sent men over to get her and before the night was over, the two of them- the King and the wife of another man- had sex. It was an ugly tryst, all the way around, and the entire thing was filled with abuse and dishonor. It was a sinful night, but it may have ended there... except that David's lover became pregnant.
      David's sin would now be uncovered. What he had done at night would now be revealed in the light of day... and David could've confessed to his sin right then. He could've paid whatever the fiddler was charging and went about his life... but instead, he came up with a plan to cover his sin up. He sent for the woman's husband, Uriah, and when the loyal warrior reported to him, David couldn't praise him enough. You're my kind of man, he said, and you need a little TLC... so get over to your home and "get reacquainted with your wife." David knew that Uriah would always consider Bathsheba's child to be his too... if he had sex with her, but Uriah would not allow himself to enjoy such pleasure, not when his fellow soldiers were engaged in battle. Uriah would not violate his code of honor, not even when David got him drunk the next evening... so David to solve his dilemma by sinning all the more. He sent a note to his military commander, Joab, telling him to leave Uriah on the front line during their next encounter with the enemy, and Joab did just that. Uriah died that day, in the line of duty... and David was home free,
      No one, he was sure, would ever know about his sin against Bathsheba (and Uriah)... but he was wrong... because God knew all about it. God knew what David had done. God knew that David had sinned against Him... by violating the Image of God in others... and by using others as if they were just things to play with. God knew that David had sinned and he knew that sin has a heavy price... so he sent his prophet, Nathan, to confront David. Nathan showed up at David's door and he told the great King a story: There was a rich and powerful man, he said, who had a huge flock of sheep. And one day, the rich man had to provide a meal for an important guest. He had to cook a lamb for his guest... but he didn't want to use one of his own lambs. So, he seized his poor neighbor's only lamb... and fed it to his visitor instead. That was the story, and Nathan asked, "What do you think of that?" "Why, it's outrageous," David cried, "any man who would do that should be put to death." The King was outraged by the rich man's arrogance and insensitivity. Then Nathan delivered the punchline- "You are that man!" You are the one who took what was not yours. You are the one who violated your neighbor, and you are the man who sinned against both neighbor and God. You are that man, Nathan spoke for God, and this child of yours will die. Indeed, because of your sin, a scarlet thread will plague your family from this day on because the wages of sin is death!
     Isn't that the way it goes? A sin gives way to a bigger sin, which is covered up by another sin, and soon sin becomes a way of life, and before you know it, sin runs (and ruins) your life! Here is a spiritual axiom: sin will always keep you longer than you intended to stay, and it will always cost you more than you intended to pay! It will never let you go without a fight and it will never tire of enticing you with idle promises, half-truths, and outright lies. David was in the wrong place, at least, he lingered in the wrong place. He saw what he should not have seen and he took it all in. He opened the wrong door, knowing that nothing good could come from it... because he was blinded by self-will. He made the wrong decision and he stuck to it even after he learned that the woman was another man's wife. That was bad enough. It was unsavory and despicable on its own, but he compounded his sin by entrapping her husband and arranging for his death,
      Wrong place, wrong couple, wrong agenda, manipulation, abuse of power, violation of trust. A night of conquest and abuse of power... leading to progressively deeper sins and increasingly higher costs. That's the way it goes. Sin works that way. It never lets go and never has had enough. Sin will always weaken your relationship with God and with those who trust in you. It will short-circuit your prayer life and steal your joy. Stay a way from it. Flee while you can. But if you should get caught up in its web, remember this: God loves a contrite heart! David was forgiven (read Ps. 51), not because he was right or because he had a good reason, but simply because he surrendered his sin to God. I was forgiven too, and so were millions of others through the ages. Indeed, any person who trusts in God will be a new creation. This is the truth of it, but beware: sin is nothing to play with and many of those who have tried to play with it... have never found their way back to God.