‘Complicated’
“Meanwhile David took more concubines and wives from Jerusalem, after he came from Hebron, and more sons and daughters were born to David” -2 Samuel 5:13 NASB Life is complicated—added to its being difficult. WhenLever the word “complicated” is used, it refers to a lot of issues tied to each other until it becomes a huge web of non-negotiable realities ... and then we all find ourselves imprisoned in a cage which we made ourselves!
David, after all the wildernesses and brokenness he experienced in his life, was not spared from life’s complications ... most of it were direct results of choices he made. The lesson is clear—we are human and being broken does not erase that marred section in our humanity. It is only by God’s redemption and grace that God still called David a man after his own heart.
Being human and accepting our humanness is the beginning of seeing the light that leads us out of this complicated cage. Can we really erase all that we have done? Is there any button we can push to undo everything? Honestly, no such button exists which can undo what has been done. There is only the cross which grants fresh grace so that even through a battery of complications, we become models of grace despite the wounds and scars we have acquired.
Let us learn some spiritual insights from the word “complicated” as we study what caused it and eventually how we can live above it. Living a complicated life actually is another mysterious process of being broken that we cannot undo even in the moving-on stage ...
What caused this web of complications that entangled David to life-long pain? Allow me to highlight 3 issues that started a domino-effect type of crash in David’s character and his career. Complications started with David’s hollow convictions ... an inward spiritual decay due to unchecked spiritual erosion occurred. God’s principles were deliberately compromised. It was not a secret that taking on many wives was prohibited by God for Israel’s king (Deuteronomy 17:17). Long before David was born, this law already existed for the protection of Israel’s King. David did not obey!
From spiritual erosion, it was not really hard to detect the second virus that led to a complicated life; it was called the sin of self-sufficiency. John Eldredge labeled it as “godless self-centeredness”. When power now shows its perks and privileges, it is easier to feel entitled rather than being humble. Like an unstoppable spiritual addiction, power consumes a heart that was once hungry for God. David’s brokenness led him to recover from this evil of self-sufficiency but brokenness did not erase the painful damage it created in David and the people he loves. David needed to be reminded of this evil tendency and each time he forgets he is weak, more complications abound.
Actually, what David was guilty of was not all-out disobedience ... he was guilty of selective spirituality. When it came to battles, David inquired of the Lord. When it came to taking more wives and concubines, he did not consult God! All these resulted in the complicated life of David. In spite of these complications, God still called him “A man after His heart”. This is grace. Shall we deliberately sin that grace may abound? God forbid! It is only because of the grace of God many David’s in our time still have the opportunity to change and call upon the Lord. Actually, David’s life was more complicated than difficult. What is the difference? A difficult life has a way out somewhere; a complicated life is a scar in the heart that is never erased. Only under the cross of Christ do such scars become timely invitations of redemption and repentance. Thanks for reading this complicated article. One thing I can say, it is written from my heart!