Most of you have read these words in past messages. Sin will take you farther than you wanted to go, keep you longer than you intended to stay, cost you more than you’re able to pay. The pleasure of sin is seasonal. Hebrews 11:24-26. No one would participate if it wasn’t, and Satan’s kingdom would be bankrupt. But we’ve all fallen under its spell at one time or multiple times.
The lure of sin does allow for an initial comfort. Here’s one: I’m not hurting anyone. That’s a bold face lie, as my sister Nay used to say. Because as long as you’re attached to a family, whatever you’re doing does eventually cause hurt to others. Be it adultery, fornication, lying, stealing, drug and alcohol addiction, deception, relocation, business decisions, you name it. Others will be hurt by our decisions.
Even good decisions made at the wrong time can be harmful to others. Selfish desires can do harm as well. Feeling like you’ve gotten away with whatever you’ve done can offer a false sense of comfort for the moment. But the Bible says everything that is hidden will eventually come to the light. Mark 4:22. Life is made up of choices-Good and bad. As believers in Jesus Christ, every decision should be tested by the Word of God. We don’t get to do what Nike has suggested- just do it. We can’t do or make decisions based purely on feelings. We can’t move because the offer is good or the time is right. We move or make decisions because we’re being led by His Spirit.
Let’s examine some decisions and choices that were made based on initial comfort. Bad ideas can present themselves as the best option, poor choices can feel good in the moment. Pride can give way to poor judgment. But in all of these instances of temporary comfort comes dire consequences that will affect others. Remember, no man is an island.
“In the days when the judges ruled in Israel, a severe famine came upon the land. So a man from Bethlehem in Judah left his home and went to live in the country of Moab, taking his wife and two sons with him. The man’s name was Elimelech, and his wife was Naomi. Their two sons were Mahlon and Kilion. They were Ephrathites from Bethlehem in the land of Judah. And when they reached Moab, they settled there. Then Elimelech died, and Naomi was left with her two sons. The two sons married Moabite women. One married a woman named Orpah, and the other a woman named Ruth. But about ten years later, both Mahlon and Kilion died. This left Naomi alone, without her two sons or her husband.” Ruth 1:1-5 NLT
This move by Elimelech was not intended to be permanent. It was supposed to be a supplementary move because of the famine. But like Lot before him, they settled in a place that would eventually cost them. They could’ve trusted Jehovah and waited out the famine as the other Bethlehemites had done, but Elimelech made the decision to uproot his family and move to a godless region, enjoying the initial comfort that left his wife bereft of husband and sons. If you continue reading you’ll find that the initial comfort now left Naomi wanting to change her name from pleasant to Mara/bitter.
“In the spring of the year, when kings normally go out to war, David sent Joab and the Israelite army to fight the Ammonites. They destroyed the Ammonite army and laid siege to the city of Rabbah. However, David stayed behind in Jerusalem. Late one afternoon, after his midday rest, David got out of bed and was walking on the roof of the palace. As he looked out over the city, he noticed a woman of unusual beauty taking a bath. He sent someone to find out who she was, and he was told, “She is Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam and the wife of Uriah the Hittite.” Then David sent messengers to get her; and when she came to the palace, he slept with her. She had just completed the purification rites after having her menstrual period. Then she returned home. Later, when Bathsheba discovered that she was pregnant, she sent David a message, saying, “I’m pregnant.” Then David sent word to Joab: “Send me Uriah the Hittite.” So Joab sent him to David. When Uriah arrived, David asked him how Joab and the army were getting along and how the war was progressing. Then he told Uriah, “Go on home and relax.” David even sent a gift to Uriah after he had left the palace. But Uriah didn’t go home. He slept that night at the palace entrance with the king’s palace guard. So the next morning David wrote a letter to Joab and gave it to Uriah to deliver. The letter instructed Joab, “Station Uriah on the front lines where the battle is fiercest. Then pull back so that he will be killed.”
2 Samuel 11:1-9, 14-15 NLT
David, man after God’s own heart, made a decision to stay home when he should’ve been out fighting alongside his men. Nothing wrong with taking a break. But that break created an opportunity that David wasn’t planning on. Lust led to sin, betrayal and murder. James 1:14-15. He tried to cover his sin by enticement, but honorable Uriah wasn’t biting. When his scheme failed to bring about the desired results, he had an innocent man as well as others killed. 2 Samuel 11:17. Then he married Bathsheba and settled into his initial comfort. He thought his secret was safe because his problem, Uriah, was dead. Then Nathan shows up. 2 Samuel 12. That sin affected David’s family for generations. He was forgiven, but the consequences lingered.
“One day Samuel said to Saul, “It was the Lord who told me to anoint you as king of his people, Israel. Now listen to this message from the Lord! This is what the Lord of Heaven’s Armies has declared: I have decided to settle accounts with the nation of Amalek for opposing Israel when they came from Egypt. Now go and completely destroy the entire Amalekite nation—men, women, children, babies, cattle, sheep, goats, camels, and donkeys.” So Saul mobilized his army at Telaim. There were 200,000 soldiers from Israel and 10,000 men from Judah. Then Saul and his army went to a town of the Amalekites and lay in wait in the valley. Saul sent this warning to the Kenites: “Move away from where the Amalekites live, or you will die with them. For you showed kindness to all the people of Israel when they came up from Egypt.” So the Kenites packed up and left. Then Saul slaughtered the Amalekites from Havilah all the way to Shur, east of Egypt. He captured Agag, the Amalekite king, but completely destroyed everyone else. Saul and his men spared Agag’s life and kept the best of the sheep and goats, the cattle, the fat calves, and the lambs—everything, in fact, that appealed to them. They destroyed only what was worthless or of poor quality.”
1 Samuel 15:1-9 NLT
What can I say about king Saul? When Samuel went to anoint him as the first king of Israel, he hid among the supplies. 1 Samuel 10:22. He was afraid of his own shadow. As tall and handsome as he was, he had self esteem issues. The Spirit of the Lord on his life, changed him into another man, this was, as long as he walked in obedience to God’s Word. Pride has its own initial comfort. It will make us feel confident in partial obedience. It will make us believe our own lies. “I did what I was told” we’ll say, while the evidence of our rebellion is staring us in the face. The bleating of sheep was Saul’s downfall.
What have you grown comfortable with or in? The initial comfort employed by the enemy is just enough to get you settling in. But disaster will always follow where restraint is cast off. What has the Lord instructed you to do? What warnings have you ignored? What famine or lack is driving your decision? What have your eyes told you that you can’t do without? The effect of our decisions will be felt far and wide. But there’s always hope and redemption for those who will return and do what is right.
Naomi went home with Ruth and was restored. David repented and God forgave him. Saul feigned repentance and was never restored. The choice is always ours, but the consequences are not. Don’t allow temporary pleasure to ruin you and those connected to you. Seek the Lord in every area of life. Let Him lead the way. Abba Father always knows what’s best for us. Trust Him in the famine, trust Him in the drought, trust Him in the fires of life. Trust Him in the time of harvest and increase. Trust Him when everything in life is good and perfect. You’ll never need to worry about the outcomes. Obey and leave the consequences to Him.
Go deeper: 1 Peter 1; Romans 6
Written by permission of the Holy Spirit
W. Tennant
June 22, 2021
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