Commissioned: Jesus Saves: From Brokenness to FreedomSample

David’s Sin

Our first three Bible studies for Episode 3, Jesus Saves: From Brokenness to Freedom, will tell a story from the life of King David, Israel’s most important King. They will illustrate how we fall into sin, what happens when we try to hide our sin, and what happens when God exposes our sin.

The first thing we learn from this story is that any one of us can fall into sin, even King David who was called “a man after God’s heart.” (I Samuel 13:14) Saint Paul says, “Whoever thinks he is standing secure should take care not to fall.” (I Corinthians 10:12) It is foolish to think that we are above temptation. But most of us know we are sinners—we just don’t know what to do about it! David’s story also gives us some understanding of how to break free from sin.

This passage gives us a clue about why David fell into sin. At a time when David should have been on his mission as King of Israel--fighting on behalf of God’s people--David stayed home in Jerusalem. He was not doing what He knew God had called him to do, and at that misspent moment, he fell into temptation. We are not called to fight against physical enemies as David was, but we are called to spiritual warfare—prayer, service, and evangelization to help people come to God. When we are not doing what God has called us to, at those misspent moments, we fall into temptation as David did. He shouldn’t have been strolling around Jerusalem rooftops in the first place! This is what Catholic teaching calls failing to avoid the “near occasion of sin;” we put ourselves in the wrong place at the wrong time.

David’s mind was not occupied by the things of God. Instead, he was thinking about what would bring him pleasure. He allowed selfishness to take over. David used his power to take Bathsheba without regard for her wishes or her happiness. He knew that Bathsheba was the wife of one of his key soldiers, but he disregarded the possible trouble this would cause for Israel. David was thinking only about David. He had forgotten the mission of God.

The first step in overcoming sin is giving ourselves wholeheartedly to the mission of God. When we live with a sense of purpose, when we fill our minds with the things of God, the less room there is for sin. The more we think about trying not to sin, the more deeply sin becomes ingrained in our thinking. Psychologists call this the “pink elephant problem”--when we focus on trying to avoid a thought, we only reinforce that thought in our minds. Try not to think about a pink elephant! It doesn’t work.

The best way to overcome sin is to replace it with the will of God! God has a wonderful plan for our lives. Let’s spend our time finding it and living it!

Stop, think and pray:

Where are we being tempted? What positive activities could take the place of the ones that lead us into temptation? Let’s praise God that he has included us in his family. Let’s ask for the wisdom to see his will more clearly and the strength to do it.