The values that we grew up with need safeguards or else they can easily evaporate. David’s story reminds us of how quickly one can deviate without knowing it. At the time that Saul launched a massive manhunt against him, he had the opportunities to get back at the king. On one of the occasions, while the king and his aides fell asleep, one of his men asked for permission to kill Saul but he refused. He knew that Saul was God’s anointed man, and touching him would be a sin. Instead, he cut off the tip of his garment as evidence. Yet, the scripture noted, “Now it happened afterward that David’s heart troubled him because he had cut Saul’s robe.” I Samuel 24:5 NKJV. His moral standard was still very high.

The values that we grew up with need safeguards or else they can easily evaporate…Power, success, money, and other things can erode values. The more we acquire these things, the greater the need for caution.

Fast forward to the time when God had established him on the throne. He seduced the wife of one of his lieutenants, Bathsheba and impregnated her. All his efforts to cover this abominable act failed. Then, he resorted to preparing a “letter bomb” which ultimately claimed the life of an innocent man. Strangely, David did not see anything wrong in all he had done until Nathan confronted him. The issue is this: How did a man who was troubled for merely cutting the edge of Saul’s garment get to a point of killing an innocent man and not feel it? Eroded values. Power, success, money, and other things can erode values. The more we acquire these things, the greater the need for caution.