Then David sent messengers to get her. She came to him, and he slept with her… Then she went back home. The woman conceived and sent word to David, saying, “I am pregnant.” (2 Samuel 11:4-5, NIV)
Fall has arrived and the moderate weather makes club tournaments a popular choice right now. I visited a Links Fellowship recently and the club where they meet had just completed its member-member tournament. The men shared great stories from the weekend and many accounted shot by shot, putts that were missed and putts that were made. So much fun, with laughing and shaking of heads at the same time!
Every sin, even if it is “only a little one,” cuts between the Lord and us.Then the topic moved to the matter of golf hangover. Now these guys were talking about how tired they were from so much golf; some even said they did not want to pick up a golf club for at least a few days. Besides the physical exhaustion you have the mental toll. When you’re constantly working your brain in an unfamiliar arena, you’re going to experience fatigue.
Sometimes it’s a good feeling to be tired. Maybe it comes with the satisfaction of a productive day. But when we’re tired or coming off the high of enjoyment, we can let down our guard. Then we are prone to sin.
Believe it or not, our golf discussion turned to the sad and cautionary account of David and Bathsheba. More of David, really. He was the king. The responsible one. The man after God’s heart. While others were working, he laid back, a decision that led him to mismanaging his idle time. Soon he was caught up in a grave sin.
When David let down his guard and brought Bathsheba into his bed, the consequences came with severity. Bathsheba conceived, and David’s attempts to cover his tracks led him to arrange for the battlefield death of her husband. Then he took this other man’s wife for his own. When she gave birth, the child died. We don’t always see God applying a direct consequence to sin in Scripture, but in this case the prophet Nathan was sent to tell David that this very thing would happen. A little downtime compromise brought adultery, murder, and tragedy.
We can never think we are not as vulnerable to temptation as David. He was God’s chosen king, a man who knew how to obey. But then…
Sin is real and can be very painful. I will always remember a pastor coaching his congregation: If you plan to sin, play it out all the way through in your mind. Whom do you hurt? Who is impacted by the sin? How will if effect your life if you commit this sin? David suffered much through his sin. Are you more savvy than he was?
God is loving and he does forgive us, but the earthly consequences are real. And every sin, even if it is “only a little one,” cuts between the Lord and us. A papercut and a knife wound may not leave the same scar, but they both hurt!
So “be on your guard; stand firm in the faith” (1 Corinthians 16:13). Don’t let exhaustion, a low from a mountaintop experience, or what we now call “a golf hangover” land you in a David moment.
—
Dereck Wong
October 11, 2017
Copyright 2017 Links Players International
The Links Daily Devotional appears Monday-Friday at www.linksplayers.com.