Chasing Your Losses

Then the king said to Doeg, “You turn and strike the priests.” And Doeg the Edomite turned and struck down the priests, and he killed on that day eighty-five persons who wore the linen ephod. 1 Samuel 22:18

Working with those addicted to gambling, I learned a lot about those self-destructive behaviors that are typical for gamblers. I thought I didn’t understand gambling addiction until I began learning these behavior patterns, which I could see in my own drug addiction. For instance, gamblers will often chase their losses, meaning that once they’ve lost money, they don’t stop as one might think. Rather, they must try and make up the lost money, often by making even bigger bets, thereby losing even more. It’s a vicious cycle that compounds any loss, digging an ever-deeper hole.

Though it didn’t involve betting, I chased my losses in my addiction. When I experienced the misery of withdrawal, I should have recognized the self-destructive behavior pattern and abandoned drugs. Instead, I switched to another drug to treat the withdrawal from the first. When my life began to fall apart due to my addiction, I should have been honest, using the opportunity to get sober. Instead, I tried to lie my way out, only compounding my self-destructive behavior.

King Saul did something similar in today’s passage. Fearful of David assuming his throne, Saul sought to kill him. On the run, David was aided by the priests at the city of Nob. When Saul discovered that his own priests were on David’s side, he should have seen the error of his ways. Instead, though, he simply had all the priests put to death. Instead of repenting and returning to God, Saul doubled down, compounding his sin, digging an ever-deeper hole for himself.

When confronted with the potential consequences of our self-destructive behavior, this is a natural response. I can fix this. Often, we double down, chasing our losses, lying, conspiring, and engaging in even more self-destructive behavior trying to undo those losses. Though it’s natural to try and protect ourselves, that which is natural often isn’t healthy or helpful. Even if we get away with it, we’ve only dug a deeper hole in our own sin, further distancing ourselves from God.

Though Saul couldn’t accept it, the only way to save himself, was to repent, relent of his efforts to kill David, and surrender his kingdom. This, however, was too great a cost and so, Saul chased his losses, making his situation far worse. If we wish to avoid Saul’s fate, then, when confronted with our own self-destructive behavior, we must repent and return to God. Chasing our losses only compounds our sin, making our situation so much worse.