Second Samuel, Chapter 11, is the story of Israel’s great King, David, committing adultery with the wife of one of his generals, Uriah. It is a long sad story of how David arranged the death of Uriah in order to prevent David’s infidelity being found out. You should read the chapter, it is very instructive.
The first two verses are really the BIG lesson; if you aren’t where you should be, with the people you should be with, doing the things you should be doing, then you will inevitably be where you shouldn’t be, with people you shouldn’t be with, doing things you shouldn’t be doing. David should have been in the battlefield with Uriah, and he should have been fighting the battle with Uriah and his men. Instead, David was at home, reclining on his couch, and lusting after Uriah’s wife until he brought her to his bed.
Am I where I should be? Am I with the people I should be with? Am I doing what I should be doing? Hmmmm. Am I spending too much time with people like Brock Purdy (the San Francisco 49ers quarter-back) on TV, or maybe I’m hanging out with a group of peers that don’t have the priorities I should be aspiring to attain? Am I spending time in places like my local watering-hole, or maybe the golf-course, or…? Maybe, just maybe, I’m doing things I shouldn’t be doing, like drinking too much, or gambling too much, or ignoring the needs/concerns of my spouse, or maybe avoiding my kids so I don’t have to engage in the difficult parenting decisions… or?
If you’ve been the parent of teenager I’m pretty sure you tried to teach them this core value: go where you tell me you’re going, be with the people you tell me you’re going to be with, and do what you’ve told me you’re going to be doing. As a parent, any material deviation from these points will result in negative consequences… Hmmmmm.
I’m not here to call out any specks in your eye, goodness knows I’ve got enough planks of my own, but I think it is important to consider the core principle of these verses. Be where I’m supposed to be, with whom I’m supposed to be with, and I will be much more likely to be doing what I should be doing. Start at the root and grow from there.