2 Sam 12 - You're the Man

I can’t read this story without thinking about the Veggie-tale episode where the King is told a story about a guy who had all the “rubber duckies” a man could possible need or want, yet he still stole another man’s most cherished “rubber ducky”. The accusation was made. And when asked who it was, Nathan said to David in verse 7, “You are the man!”

Not quite the same story, not quite the same impact. But I think that is what it’s come to. We become so hardened by our own sin, that we lose perspective on how damaging it is to our walk. Yes, in Christ our sin is forgiven. But left unchecked, damages our relationships because it damages us. It impacts our relationship with God and our ability to worship, hear, and follow Him. It impacts our relationship with others and our ability and willingness to place them in front of our selves. It impacts our actions as determined by our priorities and personal pursuits.

So I guess today, for the first time, I’m reading this story and instead of thinking about how jacked up David became, instead of thinking about the tangled web and taking shots at it from the outside, I turn towards myself. I guess it just builds on yesterday’s reading, but I’m prayerfully seeking were I need to confess and change. Many areas instantly come to mind.

But how do we make that confession and change a reality instead of just a fleeting thought? How do we take it beyond the “I’m sorry I took your rubber ducky”?

This morning I met with the men from our Missional Community Group. We are reading and discussing Tim Keller’s book “The Reason for God”. We landed on the discussion of how we really find and advance through the answers to the questions and the struggles we have (and counsel others with their own questions). One of the guys said, “It all depends on the attitude of your heart, whether or not you really want to find the answer”.

He’s right.

Often we can see all our problems clearly. We can identify and know exactly what our issues are. And as we seek God’s answers… if we REALLY want to know them, we’ll see them. If we really don’t, we probably won’t experience relief from the issues (or even experience insight). Can God show us? Yes. But does He have to? No. Why would He? If we don’t really want to know the answer and/or we aren’t willing to make the change, we may never see it. If God doesn’t withhold the answers and the way, we certainly are experts on withholding it from ourselves… reasoning it away and making excuses.

So a simple question emerges for today: Do we really want to be changed?

God, change our hearts and minds, in spite of our hearts and minds. Today I pray for continued and radical transformation. Give me the desire where I lack the desire, the discipline where I lack discipline, and the wisdom where I lack wisdom. Amen.