I listened today as my wife and children studied 2 Samuel 11-12, the record of David’s adultery with Bathsheba, the wife of Uriah the Hittite, and I discussed it with them further tonight in a family devotional. We learn from 1 Chronicles 11:41 that Uriah was not just another man in the army of Israel. He was one of David’s “mighty warriors” (v. 26). David, being a warrior himself, would have known his elite fighting men closely. They were likely among his best friends, and certainly his most trusted. Chapter 11 recounts some of their most valiant deeds. They went into the thickest, most heated of battles, fought the deadliest of opponents, and they won. They would have trusted each other with their very lives. And that’s just what Uriah did - but David broke that trust.

I doubt David anticipated anything near how far he would go for his sin. So many of us are enticed away, thinking something like: “One time won’t hurt.” By the time it was all over, David’s life had become nothing less than horrific. His son had died. He had taken the wife of a man who likely constantly put his own life on the line to save his king. He had sacrificed the trust of Joab, another of his trusted men and his highest ranking commander, whom he had called upon to carry out his plan to kill Uriah. He likely would also have been haunted by the knowledge of what he’d done every time he looked at his wife, Bathsheba, knowing the hurt he had caused her.

Sin results in death. Sin destroys. Sin hurts, not just our own lives, psychology, and relationship with the Lord, but it hurts the people we care about the most. For the Christian, sin is not a fond memory. It isn’t just a remnant part of our character that we can learn to live with. Sin destroys. If allowed to, it will have us on our knees, and it will have our families. Jesus broke the power of sin. Remember the hold it once had on you. Remember the hurt it caused. Run to the Savior, hide His Word in your heart, and train in the armor of God, so that in the evil day you can stand.