2 Samuel 12:5-6 – Taking stalk of life

Nathan’s parable was so well told that David could not tell that he was the subject of the story. So his anger was kindled against that rich man without realizing that it was himself that he should be angry with. So he spontaneously declared the judgment that the rich man deserved and that the fourfold restitution the poor man was due. So in verse 5 he declared, “As the LORD lives, surely the man who has done this deserves to die. He must make restitution for the lamb fourfold because he did this thing and had no compassion.” He was so oblivious that the pun was on him.

David’s pronouncement of the judgment was severe. Would he be so brutal in his judgment had he known that he was the rich man of the story? Had David taken time to reflect on the story, perhaps he would be able to see where Nathan was leading him to. Isn’t this the propensity of a sinful man? Quick to jump to condemn others so long as it is not himself. We deduce from his reaction that David had no self-awareness. This is a classic illustration of what Jesus our Lord said about the ability to see a spat of dust in someone else’s eye, yet unable to see the plank that is blocking one’s own eye. This is the blinding effect of sin. 

Sadly, when a person is living in sin, he or she lacks a sense of self-awareness. That lack will eventually lead to self-deception. This leads to the inability to rightly appraise oneself. When we failed to rightly appraise ourselves, we tend to be more condemning in dealing with the wrongs of others. Carl Jung said that “Knowing your own darkness is the best method to deal with the darkness of other people.” Conversely, when we know our own failings, we tend to be more generous in appraising the wrongs of others. People tend to be less judgemental when they evaluate the situation from the perspective of their personal unworthiness.

These two verses warn us of the danger of self-deception. It can ruin our lives in ways that we will never know. The good news is that we can avoid self-deception by evaluating and taking stalk of our life at the end of the day. Bear in mind that the first step to change is self-awareness. We must, therefore, make introspection a part of our daily habits so that we will know what we need to do to improve ourselves. “Test yourselves to see if you are in the faith; examine yourselves!”  This is Paul’s earnest plea in 1 Corinthians 13:5. It will do us well to take heed!