Set Uriah in the forefront of the hardest fighting, and then draw back from him, that he may be struck down, and die. 2 Samuel 11:15
When my addiction and opioid diversion came to light, I panicked – I can still fix this. I reached out to friends, asking for them to lie for me, which would have made them accomplices in my diversion scheme. It was an absurd request and thankfully they all said no, but still, it seemed like a sound plan to me at the time. I was desperate to avoid consequences, and desperate men do desperate things, often making a bad situation worse. What I should have done, was acknowledge guilt and accept responsibility. Instead, I attempted to compound my trouble, trying to cover up one lie with more lies, nearly making my situation so much worse. Sin and corruption breed more sin and corruption.
This is the story of King David in today’s passage. In the story, David impregnated Bathsheba, though she was already married to Uriah, a soldier in Israel’s army. When David discovered Bathsheba was pregnant, he had Uriah brought back from battle, hoping that Uriah would go home, sleep with his wife, and that the child could be passed off as Uriah’s. When Uriah refused to go home while his men were at war, David sent him back to the conflict, arranging for him to be killed on the battlefield. Not only did David usurp his power, taking advantage of a married woman, but in the coverup, he killed the woman’s husband to hide his sin. Having done one terrible thing, David found himself compelled to do an even worse thing to try to fix his situation. Sin and corruption bred more sin and corruption.
Though it may not have been on such a dramatic scale, most of us have been in a similar situation. Caught in some lie, we try to fix it . . . with more lies. We shouldn’t lie in the first place of course, but once we’ve been caught in it, we should confess and take responsibility. Instead, though, we weigh the consequences, deeming them to be too great, and so, we double down, compounding our sin, trying to lie our way out. What’s one more lie? Admitting responsibility seems so foreign at that point, but if we want to stop making our situation worse and if we ever want to get out of the hole we’ve dug for ourselves, at some point, we’ve got to put down the shovel and stop digging.