(Pastor James Scarborough, Donalsonville Assembly of God)

"But the thing David had done displeased the Lord" (II Samuel 11:27b, NIV).

David was a man who loved and served God from his youth, yet we find in Scripture that he made some choices that displeased God. How could it be?

The account recorded in II Samuel 11 recalls that of David's sin of adultery with Bathsheba. As is often the case with sin, what the king did was not just one sinful act; instead, it was the beginning of a snowball effect: he looked at her with lust in his heart, he allowed his lust to be turned into sinful actions, then he committed other sins (including the arranged murder of Bathsheba's husband) to try to cover up what he had already done.

All of this is a reminder that sin is absolutely an ugly, infectious and destructive affliction of the soul. If we are to live successfully for the honor of God, we must take serious steps to prevent ourselves from giving in to sin. Furthermore, if we have sin in our hearts that has not been properly dealt with, we must swiftly bring it before God for His cleansing.

We know from Scripture that David was forgiven when he repented and that God continued to use him after that, but we also find from Scripture that he suffered severe consequences the rest of his life because of the selfish choices that he made.

Adultery is a horrible sin that has ripped apart many homes and destroyed far too many ministries, but it is only one sin among many. We must, therefore, be careful at all times that we do not begin to slide down the slippery slope of sin's deception that is so prevalent in so many forms. It is beneficial for us to learn some things from David's unfaithfulness that will guard us from yielding to sin of any description.

A good way to avoid the slippery slope of sin's deception is to realize that God's pleasure with us does not make us sinproof. In II Samuel 5 we are told: "And he [David] became more and more powerful, because the Lord God Almighty was with him" (verse 10). In spite of all that God had done in and through David, his poor choice resulted in sin that brought the displeasure of God who had established him as a mighty leader. We must be very careful that we do not allow Satan any opportunity to deceive us no matter how powerfully God has used us. Spiritual victory might make us feel like supermen, but we must never forget that without God's strength we will fail in every temptation.

David got too close to sin and slid down its slippery slope of pain, shame and destruction. May we all be careful that we stay as far away as possible from the enticements of Satan. And if we do find ourselves having allowed temptation to sin to win us over, we can rejoice that God is still in the business of forgiving and restoring the lives of those who approach Him with genuine repentance.