Jump Start # 1875

2 Samuel 12:14 “However, because by this deed you have given occasion to the enemies of the Lord to blaspheme, the child also that is born to you shall surely die.”

One of the difficulties in life is learning to see the big picture. We often only see things from the moment and only from how things impact us. A teenager wants to save up enough money to go to a concert later in the summer. He takes on a summer job. He is trained and begins to work. Two weeks after he has started working he fails to show up. He doesn’t tell anyone. He doesn’t call his boss. He just quits. When pressed why, he has made enough money for the ticket to the concert. Failing to see the big picture, he didn’t see what his choice did to the company he was working for, nor the time they put in to train him, nor what a continual pattern of this will do to him in the future.

David, from our verse today, failed to see the big picture. His choice involved layers of sin. He lusted after a married woman, sent for her and had a sexual encounter. She became pregnant. Her husband was called in from the battle front to disguise the sin. When that didn’t work, he was sent back to the fighting, carrying the very papers that called for his death. What David hoped was all secret and swept under the rug was exposed and revealed by the prophet that God sent. In a cutting rebuke, the prophet declared, “…you have given occasion to the enemies of the Lord to blaspheme.” You have helped the enemy. Helping the enemy is called being a traitor. David failed to see the big picture.

There are several lessons for us.

First, we must decide whose side are we on. A person can’t walk on both sides here. You are with God or you are not. You are 100% in or you are not. We can’t be with God on some things and not on other things. David’s actions didn’t connect with the righteous and holy God that he claimed to follow.

Our language…our jokes…our modesty…our attitudes—what do they show our friends who are not Christians? Are we remembering to let our light shine, even at ball games and concerts? Do we hide our faith when with those who do not believe? Whose side are you on?

Second, we must realize that little things are big things. David’s wrong choices involved more than the execution of a brave and loyal soldier. Others died that day along with Uriah. David’s commanders must have questioned and wondered about those strange orders to pull back during the fight. Would David order the same to them some day? Is this how he handles those he doesn’t like?

A congregation seeks spiritual leaders. A man who everyone feels fits the job, won’t do it. He doesn’t want what comes with it. He likes coming home and staying there. He is asked. He says “no.” He doesn’t realize the big picture. The church limps along without godly leaders. Others see that he won’t step up and they follow his example. The church suffers. In time, the church begins to die. The atmosphere is discouraging. Nothing is getting done and no one wants to step up. The big picture was never grasped.

Third, doing things that helps the enemy hurts God’s cause. The prophet told David that he had supplied reason for the enemies to blasphemy. That reason would involve stealing a man’s wife. That reason would involve killing your own troops. This is the way the heathens act. We’d expect this from someone who did not know God. But David had God. David had the Ten Commandments. Credibility was shot because of David’s choices. Our choices, our words, our attitudes can kill any positive influence that we are trying to have with others. The enemy was watching. The enemy sees you under stress. They hear what you say when you are upset. They notice how you talk to people when things are not right. They see how honest you are. The enemy is watching. The enemy is noticing how serious you take what you believe. Is it just convenient to you? Do you do under the table deals that are not honest, just to make a few extra dollars? The enemy knows. The enemy sees if you go by the rules or if you bend them to your favor.

The enemy makes a judgment about your faith. In David’s case, at this occasion, the answer would be, “he’s not serious about his faith. Look what he has done.” The enemy also makes a judgment about the church you attend because of you. They assume everyone is just like you. Now, what would that assumption be? Would they think that they are all dishonest? They will do anything to make a buck? The enemy also makes a judgment about God based upon you. This is why our passage mentions blasphemy. They were not blaspheming David, but rather, God. To blasphemy is to take that which is sacred and treat it as common. God was nothing, in the eyes of the enemy. The God of Israel was no different than the pagan gods. The great king of Israel was immoral, lied, and killed his own people. Why follow that God when their own gods were doing the same?

Your friends may wonder, why should I go to church services with you, when you act and talk just like they do? Obviously, going to church hasn’t changed you and obviously you don’t believe what is being said there, so why should a person even go? You have helped the enemy without even realizing it. By your actions, someone may have been prevented from becoming a Christian.

Serious stuff to consider. What we do is bigger than we are. Our choices influence and impact others. Even after we are dead, some, especially in our families, will remember how we conducted ourselves. Our example may help them walk with the Lord or we may have given them reason to blasphemy. David thought no one would know what he did. He was wrong. What is said and done in your home may be spoken openly by the next generation.

Encouraging or hurting. Helping or standing in the way. Glory to God or reasons to blasphemy. David never saw that nor thought about that. I hope we can do better.

Roger