Poor life choices, or sin?

     Then Nathan said to David "You are the man!"
      -2 Sam 12:7


     Through the encounter of Nathan the prophet with David, after his sin with Bathseba, we have in the sacred record God's view of sin.
     1. David's sin displeased the Lord.
          In the previous chapter we have the account of David and Bathseba. He saw her bathing, desired her, had her brought to him and commited adultery with her. When she conceived he then tried to hide the truth from her husband. When his attempts at manipulating the circumstances failed, he had Uriah killed in battle. David had managed to cover up his sin from those around him, but he could not hide it from God. We are not told that God was not shocked, we are not told that God was not surprised, we are not told that God understood David's poor choices. We are told that God was displeased (11:27) God did not overlook this sin, in fact the consequences that David bore show us how much this sin angered God.
     2. David's sin was a gross injustice in the eyes of the Lord.
           Nathan the prophet confronted David with a story of a rich man who commited an act of injustice against a poor man. The poor man owned a lamb that ate with him and his children. In fact he treated it as one would treat a child. One day the rich man who owned many flocks of sheep had a visitor. He took the poor man's lamb, killed it and served it to his visitor. Hearing this, David was outraged at the injustice of it. Nathan then replied "You are the Man!". David stood self condemned. He knew he had acted in a similar manner. Even more however, God saw the injustice of David's sin. David was the king of Israel. He was a wealthy man. He also had several wives. On the other hand, Bathseba was the wife of Uriah. Uriah was a soldier who was loyal to David. It breaks one's heart to read of his loyalty, as David tried to deceive him (11:6-15).
     3. David's sin showed an ungrateful spirit.
          " I annointed you King over Israel, and I delivered you from the hand of Saul. I gave your master's house to you, and your master's wives into your arms. I gave you the house of Israel and Judah. And if all this had been too little, I would have given you even more." (vs 7,8). This does not sound like the God who is too big to be hurt by our wrong choices. David had been blessed by God, yet his sin showed a dissatisfaction with all that God had given him. Most of us can relate to this. At one time or another we have all done something nice for someone, given someone a nice gift, given a compliment, but received no thanks. Maybe the individual was even indifferent, or rude, and our feelings were hurt. Make no mistake about it. God is hurt by our sin!
     4. David despised the word of the Lord. (vs 9).
          One can read through the Psalms and see the love that David had for the word of God. David treasured the Word more than gold and silver. His love for the word led him to obey it with a whole hearted passion. Yet something had happened to David's love for the word. His actions betrayed his heart. The word of God meant nothing to him now.
     5. David despised the Lord (vs 10).
          David's one desire was to dwell in the presence of the Lord all of his days (Psalm 27:4). He loved the Lord deeply. His Psalms are filled with worship, adoration, commitment, trust. Now God said "You despised Me!". That is what sin is. It is selfish attitude of the heart that does not submit to God, an attitude that does not care about serving God, does not care about pleasing Him. Many people say that they love God, but actions speak louder than words.
      6. David's sin brought reproach on the Lord (vs 14).
           The eyes of the world are on Christians. Others can see through a facade. When someone claims to be a Christian, but walks in the world, it turns people off. It causes others to ridicule christianity, to ridicule Christ. There is a verse in Hebrews that states we crucify christ all over again, putting Him to an open shame, when we walk away from Him (Heb 6:6).
     David repented of his sin, and God forgave him. However the tragic consequences of this sin followed him for the rest of his life. It not only affected him, but also his family, and even the nation of Israel. It is a common thing today, to hear people downplay sin. Sin is referred to as mistakes, wrong choices, poor life choices. Many people believe that God has created them the way they are. Individuals go to altar calls wanting God to fix their "mistakes", wanting forgiveness for "poor choices". It is true that God is a forgiving merciful God, but we need to rightly understand what sin really is. Only when we truly see how sin offends God, and how deep it runs in our heart can we truly repent of it and find grace.