Scripture: 2 Samuel 13-15
David’s family foul-up was a lifelong stupor that cost him dearly.
One of David’s sons, Amnon, fell in lust with his half-sister Tamar, one of David’s daughters by another marriage. Amnon raped Tamar and discarded her like a worn doll. David was angry but he did nothing to Amnon. Even worse, David did nothing for Tamar. Absalom, her brother, filled the void. He sheltered Tamar and killed Amnon. Again, David didn’t intervene or respond. He wept in solitude.
Absalom fled Jerusalem and David made no attempt to see his son. For three years they lived in two separate cities. Absalom returned to Jerusalem, but David still refused to see him. David finally reunited with Absalom, but it was too late. The seeds of bitterness had spread deep roots. Absalom resolved to overthrow his father. Absalom’s takeover set the stage for the sad walk of David out of Jerusalem – up the Mount of Olives and into the wilderness. No crown. No city. Just a heavyhearted, lonely, old man. David succeeded everywhere except at home. And if you don’t succeed at home, do you succeed at all?
Don’t pay the price David paid. To see the ultimate cost of a neglected family, look at the way our hero dies. David is hours from the grave. A chill has set in that blanket can’t remove. Servants decide he needs a person to warm him, someone to hold him tight as he takes his final breaths. Do they turn to one of his wives? No. Do they call on one of his children? No.
Make your wife the object of your highest devotion. Make your husband the recipient of your deepest passion. Cherish the children who share your name. Succeed at the home first.
Reference: Facing your giants: God still does the impossible by Max Lucado
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