2 Samuel 11:25
“Then David said unto the messenger, Thus shalt thou say unto Joab, Let not this thing displease thee, for the sword devoureth one as well as another: make thy battle more strong against the city, and overthrow it: and encourage thou him.”
The verse above is very disturbing to say the least. Joab and Israel fought against the Ammonites. As was the normal case, Joab sent a servant to David to give him an update on the status of the war. This update was different from the rest. In this update was a report that several men were killed when they tried to take a city. Joab informed the messenger to be sure that he included that Uriah had also been killed in this battle.
There was a reason Joab wanted the message of Uriah’s death sent out. That reason was because David wanted him to be killed. When the messenger told David that Uriah had been killed, it didn’t bother him. He acted as if nothing had happened. David’s sin had caused a heart that once used to be tender towards God and fervent against sin to be cold and indifferent. The coldness and indifference towards sin was so evident that Joab saw it. It’s also disturbing that it didn’t seem to bother Joab.
It is amazing how sin causes people to become indifferent towards it. It is astonishing how sin can cause a heart to be cold. It is stunning how sin can turn a tenderhearted person into a cold and calculated manipulator. That is what David became. It didn’t bother him that a wife lost her husband. It didn’t bother him that men lost a friend forever. It didn’t bother him that people’s lives were turned upside down. The only thing that mattered to David was that he got his way. The only thing that was important to David was that he could seemingly commit a great sin and get away with it because of his stature. What David didn’t calculate in this whole plan was that God knew what he did and that he would eventually be held accountable for his sin.
Christian, let me ask you, does sin bother you? Has your sin caused your heart to become cold and indifferent towards the sins of society? Can you hear about the sins of people and it not bother you? It is amazing how our sin can cause us to look at sin through a different set of eyeglasses. It is amazing how our sin can turn a heart cold and indifferent towards its affect on others.
Sin should bother you! It doesn’t matter how “big” or “small” your sin is, it should bother you. It should bother you because it bothers God. You have serious heart problems when you can commit sin and go on as if nothing happened. You have serious heart problems when you think you can manipulate your way out of sin’s consequences.
What is the answer for a heart like this? The answer is to throw yourself at the feet of God and ask Him to change the heart of stone back into a heart of flesh. The answer is to confess your sin to God. If you find yourself looking at sin and not being bothered by it, then you have a good indication that you have a spiritual heart problem. Your daily prayer should be to ask God to keep your heart from being hardened towards sin. Your prayer should be to ask God to help you see your sins the same way He sees them. Don’t ever get to the point that sin doesn’t bother you. Whether or not it affects you or others you love, sin should always bother you. The test of a heart towards God is how much sin bothers it. Does the sin of others bother you? Better yet, does your sin bother you? Your honest answer to these questions will show your spiritual condition.