The Progression of Sin

As a child I was always reminded of the importance of being truthful.  My elementary school principal would frequently say, “a liar is a thief and a thief is a murderer.”  At nine, I never understood how she could equate lying with killing.  I used to think—“it’s just a little lie; how can you say that because I lied, I’m capable of stealing and, God forbid, committing murder!” Wisdom comes with age and experience.  After the many times I’ve fallen into sin, which in turn led to more sin, sometimes worse than others, I now understand what my principal was trying to impart to me.

Sin is not self contained. It may start as a spark but, if not controlled, can easily spread like wildfire, destroying everything in its path.  How many times have we heard stories that ended badly, with lives left in shambles because of one drink that turned into alcoholism or harmless flirtation that turned into infidelity or a casual experiment that turned into a serious addiction?  We should never underestimate sin’s power and should resist its temptation at all costs.

As King of Israel, David learned this lesson early in his reign.

2 Samuel 11:1:  In the spring, at the time when kings go off to war, David sent Joab out with the king’s men and the whole Israelite army. They destroyed the Ammonites and besieged Rabbah. But David remained in Jerusalem.

David should have gone to war as other kings did at that time, but decided to shirk his primary responsibilities and remain at home. What began as laziness escalated into adultery when he lusted after Bathsheba and had an affair with her though she was married to one of his soldiers.

2 Samuel 11:2-5:  Then it happened one evening that David arose from his bed and walked on the roof of the king’s house. And from the roof he saw a woman bathing, and the woman was very beautiful to behold. So David sent and inquired about the woman. And someone said, “Is this not Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam, the wife of Uriah the Hittite?” Then David sent messengers, and took her; and she came to him, and he lay with her, for she was cleansed from her impurity; and she returned to her house. And the woman conceived; so she sent and told David, and said, “I am with child.”

What progressed from laziness to adultery quickly became murder when Bathsheba became pregnant and David wanted her only for himself.

2 Samuel 11:14-16; 26-27:  In the morning it happened that David wrote a letter to Joab and sent it by the hand of Uriah. ¹⁵ And he wrote in the letter, saying, “Set Uriah in the forefront of the hottest battle, and retreat from him, that he may be struck down and die.” When the wife of Uriah heard that Uriah her husband was dead, she mourned for her husband.  And when her mourning was over, David sent and brought her to his house, and she became his wife and bore him a son. But the thing that David had done displeased the Lord.

David’s sin displeased the Lord and it resulted in great pain for him. Not only did his sin affect his intimacy with the Lord, but it resulted in the death of the child he conceived with Bathsheba.

2 Samuel 12:15, 18: And the Lord struck the child that Uriah’s wife bore to David, and it became ill.  ¹⁸ Then on the seventh day it came to pass that the child died.

Sinful pleasures of flesh may seem appealing and may satisfy an imminent craving; however, these pleasures are often short-lived and can result in long-term suffering.

James 1:12: Blessed is the man who endures temptation; for when he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life which the Lord has promised to those who love Him.

James 4:7-Submit yourselves, then, to God.  Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.