5So David’s anger was greatly aroused against the man, and he said to Nathan, “As the Lord lives, the man who has done this shall surely die!” [simple_tooltip content=’1 Then the LORD sent Nathan to David. And he came to him, and said to him: “There were two men in one city, one rich and the other poor.
2 The rich man had exceedingly many flocks and herds.
3 But the poor man had nothing, except one little ewe lamb which he had bought and nourished; and it grew up together with him and with his children. It ate of his own food and drank from his own cup and lay in his bosom; and it was like a daughter to him.
4 And a traveler came to the rich man, who refused to take from his own flock and from his own herd to prepare one for the wayfaring man who had come to him; but he took the poor man’s lamb and prepared it for the man who had come to him.”
5 So David’s anger was greatly aroused against the man, and he said to Nathan, “As the LORD lives, the man who has done this shall surely die!
6 And he shall restore fourfold for the lamb, because he did this thing and because he had no pity.”’](2 Samuel 12:1-6)[/simple_tooltip]
Have you ever noticed that the guilty are usually the most vocal opponents of the very things they are doing? As Shakespeare wrote, “Methinks thou dost protest too much.” David was miserable inside, and his hatred for his own sin came out in his judgment of “that man”—who turned out to be him!
There have been many times that I’ve told a woman who was battered by her husband that this treatment wasn’t personal. He can only give what he has. Because he’s miserable inside, he can only mistreat her and make her miserable. This has caused wives to look at the situation differently and actually have compassion instead of judgment toward their husbands. That key often unlocks the door to their husband’s heart and starts the healing process in him and between them.
Are you short-tempered with others? Do you constantly find fault with everything? It’s possible that the problem really isn’t with others, but with you. Are you upset with yourself? Are you never satisfied with your own performance? Have you not found true forgiveness in the grace of God?
We can’t control what others around us do, but we can control ourselves. As we appropriate the love of God that’s available to us personally, we’ll be able to extend that love to others. If we are void of God’s love, it’ll show in our treatment of others.
The hatred you have for your own sin can manifests in judgmental or critical attitudes toward someone else. Don’t make that mistake. Receive God’s love and forgiveness today, and then you can pray for and help those who are caught in the same trap you were caught in.
