Enough is Enough?

by Sandra Perry
Published January 3, 2005

In II Samuel 11, David was living large, so to speak. He was the undisputed king of both Israel and Judah. Surrounding kings were sending delegations to honor him with gifts and riches. He had a more than capable army to fight his battles for him. He had several wives and concubines who produced strong sons and daughters for him. For the first time in a long time, David wasn’t on the run. He was comfortable. He had time on his hands.

One evening David was leisurely standing on the roof of the palace when he caught a glimpse of Bathsheba bathing and liked what he saw. He sent for her and she liked what she saw. Problem: Bathsheba became pregnant and the child was undoubtedly David’s. Bigger problem: Bathsheba was married to a man named Uriah, a soldier in David’s army.

When he learned of Bathsheba’s pregnancy, David summoned Uriah to the palace and tried to get him to go home to spend some time with his wife, undoubtedly hoping that Uriah would lay his wife and take the heat off him. Unfortunately, being the stand-up guy he was, Uriah wouldn’t go home while the men under his command were still away from their own families. Seems David couldn’t buy a break.

David sent Uriah back to his men along with a letter to Joab, the commander of David’s armies, instructing Joab to put Uriah in the front of the line where the fighting was fiercest and then pull back. A death sentence for Uriah. After Uriah’s death, David hurriedly married Bathsheba and brings her to the palace to live with him. Uriah was dead and Bathsheba was his wife. No one had to know what he had done. He was the king and would not be questioned. David had no more problems… save one. God knew what David had done, and he was not pleased.

In II Samuel 12:7b-9, the prophet Nathan confronted David with these words of God:

This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: 'I anointed you king over Israel, and I delivered you from the hand of Saul. I gave your master's house to you, and your master's wives into your arms. I gave you the house of Israel and Judah. And if all this had been too little, I would have given you even more. Why did you despise the word of the LORD by doing what is evil in his eyes?’

David had everything a man could ever want or need and yet he took for himself another man’s wife. What happens when everything just isn’t enough?

In today’s world, it’s so easy to lose sight of how blessed we are. In an environment of planned obsolesce, we focus on how much we don’t have instead of being thankful for what we already have. We believe that if we just had [fill in the blank] or could be with [fill in the blank] we would be happy. We keep up with the Joneses and the Smiths and the Gates and … you get the picture. Instead of focusing on the blessings of our lives, we get caught up in “if only’s” and “if I just could’s”.

God commands us not to covet that which belongs to someone else. Why? It’s not because God doesn’t want us to have good things or satisfying relationships. In David’s case, coveting led to adultery which led to murder. Coveting is a catalyst to more destructive behaviors, and in the case of Uriah and David and Bathsheba’s child, the innocent are oftentimes the first casualties.

Ironically, David’s son, Solomon, wrote these words in Ecclesiastes 5:9-11:

The increase from the land is taken by all; the king himself profits from the fields. Whoever loves money never has money enough; whoever loves wealth is never satisfied with his income. This too is meaningless. As goods increase, so do those who consume them. And what benefit are they to the owner except to feast his eyes on them?

The fact is stuff just doesn’t last forever. In Matthew 6:19-20, Jesus instructs us:

Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal.

Having more stuff or having the “person of our dreams” ultimately will not make us happier. In fact, having “what we’ve always wanted” often brings more heartache than happiness. Instead of trying to fill the hole in our hearts with more and more things, perhaps we would profit more from filling it with a real relationship with a real God.

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