The Man in the Mirror

By Steven D. Niswonger

King David found himself with a sin problem. He saw Bath-sheba bathing one day and desired her, even though he knew that she was Uriah’s wife, and he had her brought to him. After a time, Bath-sheba sent word to David that she was pregnant…the only problem was that her husband had been away in battle for some time. David thought he could make the situation right, so he called Uriah back from battle so that he could make it look like the child was Uriah’s. Uriah did not cooperate, so David had him killed by sending him to the front lines of battle.

In 2 Samuel 12, Nathan confronted David about his sin. The sin that David committed did not just spring up in an instant…it was not a split-second decision. For the righteous, sin is not part of our nature, so it can’t be a split-second decision. Instead, Satan must sneak into the thoughts and minds of Christians. David wanted to act justly in his walk with God, but he allowed sin to enter in and work through him.

1 John 2:16 lists the three types of sin: lust of the flesh, lust of the eyes, and the pride of life. These three things can each lead to sin by themselves, or Satan can use them together to tempt the Christian. These are Satan’s tools.

David’s sin started with the lust of the flesh. This is the desire to have something that will fulfill a fleshly desire. He entertained the desire…even fantasized about it. It began long before he ever saw Bath-sheba. Any time we entertain any kind of thought, it breeds the possibility that the thought will manifest itself in our lives. Entertaining always breeds possibility. The thought must come before action because nothing happens unless the thought is placed there first.

The lust of the flesh continued to the lust of the eyes. The possibility of sin was entertained, which always leads to opportunity. The lust of the eyes provided an object for the lust of the flesh. David saw Bath-sheba and she became the object for the lust of the flesh.

Once David had an object for his lust, the pride of life took over so that he could feel justified in sinning. The addition of opportunity to desire resulted in justification of the desire. Perhaps David began to think, “I’m the king and I can have what I want”. Whatever David thought, at least for a moment, he unwisely felt above the law of God. Pride of life opposes Wisdom and all that it teaches. Proverbs 16:18 teaches us that pride and haughtiness cause sin to manifest when they are left unexposed. Pride leads to self-justification and then leads to sin. David went from desire to opportunity to pride…this path always culminates in sin.

David sinned and God brought him face to face with the man in the mirror. God strips us of any justification for sin and forces us face ourselves. Pride will lead to sin, and sin will lead to exposure. Numbers 32:23 tells us that we can be sure that our sin will be exposed. Exposure is necessary for reconciliation. Once exposed, it is no longer the sin that matters, but the response to the exposure. The character of a person is defined by his response to sin and that response has everlasting consequences. David’s response to exposure was repentance. That decision changed his life.

The decision makes all the difference. David repented and obtained forgiveness, allowing God to change his heart and desires. Judas Iscariot made the opposite choice when faced with his sin…his choice led to despair and damnation. David believed that God would forgive; Judas believed he was beyond forgiveness. What do you believe?

Man is ruled by his desires: either the desire to sin, or the desire to serve God. If we will let Him, God can change the desires and lusts of our flesh to desire for the things of the Spirit and He will give us the discernment to recognize when sin is trying to overtake us.