Sermonette: Collateral Damage

My wife has been reading through the Old Testament lately and she recently got to the various stories concerning David. She’s read the stories many times, but this time something new struck her. What struck her this time were the other people. The Bible, by necessity, stays very focused upon David and the main characters; but on this read through Erin started to wonder about the rest of the characters.

Take David and Bathsheba for example. David summons Bathsheba to sleep with her after seeing her bathe on her rooftop. Bathsheba complies, likely because David is the king and no one refuses an order from the king. She gets pregnant, but as the birth draws near, God states that the baby will die, as punishment for David’s sin. In the end, as promised, the baby dies. The baby did nothing wrong, but in the end, he paid the price for David’s sin. Or think about Bathsheba. I don’t believe she had much of a choice in the matter, and yet she had to endure the indescribable pain of losing her baby. The Bible stays focused upon David, but what about Bathsheba? What about Bathsheba’s family? What about Bathsheba’s parents who were eagerly waiting to become grandparents, only to have that joy taken away. Ascribe as much mature faithfulness as you want to them, but that’s a tough hit to absorb.

Fast forward a few years. David’s kids have grown up but lost control. One son, Amnon rapes his half-sister Tamar. Out of vengeance, Tamar’s full brother Absalom has Amnon killed in cold blood. Again, the Bible stays focused upon the immediate family, but what about Amnon’s family? What about his kids? What about all the servants who worked for Amnon and now are out of the job? David had a bunch of kids, how are they going to explain to their children what happened to Uncle Amnon or Aunt Tamar? The Bible stays focused so we don’t lose the plotline, but each time an important person sins, dozens of people suffer.

This is cost of sin. We do not live in vacuum. I’m led to believe by what I’ve witnessed that every sin has a cost paid in part by those around us. When we give into anger, we hurt the people we pass on the street. There is no sin that does not cause collateral damage. There is no truly secret sin. Everything time we give into temptations, it’s not just ourselves that pay the price, but those around us as well.

However, the inverse is true too. Every citizen of Israel was blessed by David’s rule. Blessed by the peace, blessed by the economy, blessed by access to God. David’s faithfulness paid dividends to the people around him.

Our faith as well has the potential to bless those around us. It’s important for us to remember, that good or bad, faith or sin, our choices affect the those around us. Maybe concern for yourself isn’t enough to motivate you toward holiness, but perhaps the impact on the those around you will. Our choices will either hurt the people we live near, or make their lives better. May we choose to be salt and light in the world around us.