We are all well acquainted with the phrase, “Whatever happens in Vegas – stays in Vegas.” Ah! If only that were true. Unfortunately what happens in Vegas (and anywhere else for that matter) stays with you for the rest of your life.
This week’s Hot Topic comes the week before Spring Break for our students. To talk about how this works I chose to ignore the overused story of the life of David. I think we have – in the past – seen David as an almost-mystical worst case scenario of the effects of sin. Our present cultural landscape says otherwise. David is everyman. David is not the anomaly we would like him to be.
So what do we learn from David’s spring break behavior?
As it happens in 2 Samuel 11 we find David on a spring fling of his own (v.1). He sees a woman bathing on a nearby rooftop, sends for her and commits adultery with her (vv.2-4). Bathsheba (the woman) becomes pregnant (v.5). Then David sends for Uriah to come home assuming that he will sleep with his wife and cover David’s sin… only it does not go as planned and Uriah refuses to go home while his comrades are engaged in battle (vv. 6-13). Next David goes even further down the path and puts Uriah intentionally in the line of fire (vv. 14-17). And in chapter 12 the baby dies as a direct result of the sin.
If the story ended there it would be tragic, but the downward spiral continues. In chapter 13 David’s sins seem to be rubbing off as his daughter Tamar is raped by his stepson Amnon (vv. 1-19). Then Absalom has Amnon murdered because of the rape (vv. 23-29). And the final retribution in the form of Absalom’s murder in chapter 18. What tangled webs we weave!
Sin never happens in a vacuum. It always has long lasting consequences. Those consequences certainly affect us, but seldom only us because sin has tentacles. The bad choices we make extend beyond us to others. Spring break is about choices… make good ones.
re:THINK 