2 Samuel 14:4-20 – Deceptive Hearts
The first lesson to take from all this is that David was predisposed to listening to whatever reason someone would bring for allowing Absalom to return home. And we can be like that as individuals. We can be looking for an excuse for whatever sin we find comfort in. Our hearts are so deceptive. Perhaps we convince ourselves that we only did it because this bad thing happened to us first. When really we were just looking for an excuse to do it. So even though David sees through the story, and realises who’s behind it. Even though he could have picked holes in the analogy that’s used. He allows himself to be convinced to do what he already wants to do anyway.
Perhaps we hear of someone who’s given up on church. They talk about the bad experiences they’ve had. That’s the reason they give for walking away. Yet someone else goes through the same experiences, maybe even worse experiences, and doesn’t walk away. What’s the difference? Often it’s a heart that was already being pulled by the world. And the bad experience – which may well be genuinely bad – becomes the justification they need to follow their heart. And when I say the justification they need, I mean to justify it to themselves, rather than necessarily justify it to anyone else.
Think of the person who turns their back on Jesus. They just talk in terms of intellectual questions and rational arguments. But Biblically speaking, we know nothing is ever a purely intellectual issue. Jesus says: ‘Everyone who is of the truth listens to my voice’. Denial of the Christian faith might seem a brave step for someone to take. They might tell themselves that they have doubts that can no longer be ignored. Yet what’s the result of it all? They end up being able to affirm whatever the world around says they should affirm. They no longer have to stand out as different. They no longer have to take up their cross and follow Jesus. I’m not saying that people consciously set out to deny the faith with that goal in mind. Though no doubt some do. All I’m saying is that our hearts are deceitful, and the reasons we tell ourselves that we’re doing things, aren’t always the real reasons.
Question
- What is the danger of our deceptive hearts?
Prayer Points
- Pray that we would measure everything by God’s Word.
- Use prayer points from your congregation.
- Pray for family matters.