Read: 2 Samuel
11:1-18
And it came
to pass, after the year was expired, at the time when kings go forth to battle, that David sent Joab, and
his servants with him, and all Israel…But David tarried still at
Jerusalem. 2 Samuel 11:1
There was
never a question in anyone’s mind whether or not King David was a valiant man
of war. In fact, God even forbade David from building the temple because he was
such an effective fighter. However, on the fateful day that David committed the
life-changing mistake with Bathsheba, he had chosen to stay home when he should
have gone to war with the other soldiers. There would have been no temptation
from Bathsheba if David had been strategizing on the battlefield instead of
relaxing on his rooftop terrace. David could not have committed his horrible
sin had he never decided to take it easy at home. And, even at home, if David
had decided to fight the temptation, he never would have called Bathsheba to
the palace.
Many young men are quick to criticize
David for not going to battle with the other kings, yet they often do the same
thing he did. Of course, they are not kings so they are not responsible for
leading an army, but they do have a responsibility to fight. The devil is a
formidable foe that is just looking for an opportunity to tempt young men who
have given up their will to fight. At the first sign of temptation, they resign
themselves to the fact that they are going to give in. The devil tempts them to
listen to the wrong type of music when they are alone, and, instead of fighting
and walking away, they give in. Satan often works by planting seeds of
temptation in the heads of young men. They realize that in a couple hours they
will be home alone for whatever reason, and they automatically know they are
going to give in to the temptation of looking at things on the internet they
know they should not be seeing. They know they don’t want to give in, but
before they can put up a fight, they are plotting their course of sin in their
minds. A commercial comes on television with some raunchy material and, rather
than looking away, they are looking for the time that show will be on so they
can make plans to watch it.
This world is getting sicker and sicker,
and strong young men are getting fewer and fewer. Where are the young men who
will at least put up a fight? Stop just giving in to temptation the moment it
pops in front of you. At least battle against it. It is so easy to just give
in; it is tough to stand up and turn away. Perhaps that is why so many are
giving up and giving in. Will you be a young man who will determine that he has
had enough of defeat and start fighting to win some victories?
Quote of
the day: “You can find inspiration from others but determination is
solely your responsibility. -Dodinsky
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