Casualties of Sin

"I want to do right, but I do not do it. Instead, I do what I hate."

These words penned by the Apostile Paul in Romans 7 illustrate the heart of the human condition, especially for followers of Jesus. In our hearts, we desire to do the right thing, but from time to time we find ourselves veering off course into areas that are sinful.

It can be relatively easy for us to ask God's forgiveness of these failings, and that is good. But, to think that sin's effects end there is to miss a very important fact. Sin is rarely limited to just the individual who committed it. Instead, many times the sin affects others who are caught in its path.

The Bible gives us a perfect example of the casualties of sin in 2 Samuel 11. This is the legendary story of David and Bathsheba. He was the king of Israel. She was the wife of one of the king's mighty men of valor.

The Bible tells us that it was springtime when the kings take their armies off to war. David chose to stay in Jerusalem, but we aren't told why. He notices a beautiful woman bathing on her roof just outside the palace, and asks a servant, "who is she?"

I believe the servant saw a red flag and immediately told David that this was a married woman. And, not just that, she was the wife of Uriah, one of David's mighty men. You can almost hear the servant screaming a warning through his questioning of David.

Sadly, David went against what he knew was right, sent for Bathsheba, and got her pregnant. The pregnancy was accidental, but the sin was intentional...on both their parts.

So, if you're keeping score, this one sin has impacted at least six people at this point: David, Bathsheba, Uriah, the conceived child, the servant who warned David, and at least one messenger who went to get the woman. I say at least, because the Bible makes it clear that David sent messengers -- more than one messenger took part in this act. We'll go conservative and say at least six people are involved.

To cover his tracks, David conspires to have Uriah come from the battle and sleep with Bathsheba. After the plan fails, David chooses to have Uriah killed in battle. To do this, he must enlist Joab's help to draw up a battle plan that will send Uriah into the worst fighting.

That's at least seven people now involved. But, wait, there's more.

In order to disguise the murder, Joab has to draw up a foolish battle plan that will send the Israelite warriors too close to the enemy city's walls. This puts them into easy range to be picked off by the city's archers.

Verse 17 puts the exclamation mark on this sin's casualties when it tells us that this murder also cost the lives of other soldiers. David & Bathsheba's singular sin resulted in the deaths of several other people. Think about that. Many people died just so David could cover his tracks.

There is no other way around it. Sin creates casualties. They don't always come in the form of an immediate physical death. But, sin impacts our emotions, our relationships, our thoughts and our future.

Sin has consequences. Sin creates casualties.

If you find yourself in a similar situation as David -- in the middle of a sin that has gotten out of control, do what happened in 2 Samuel 12 and confront your sin, seek forgiveness and repent. Turn to Jesus.