What Is The Big Deal With Sin?

When I was growing up there were two things I really liked, Gameboy and bouncy balls. The only problem was that I didn’t own a Gameboy, and it always seemed like the bouncy ball I wanted belonged to someone else.

My oldest brother Jay did have a gameboy and he kept it in his closet in a white Styrofoam case. Occasionally I would borrow that white Styrofoam case and the gameboy just happened to come along with it. There was no telling how long I would have it before Jay found out that it wasn’t in his closet any longer. As was always the case, my mom would find me and ask me if I had Jay’s gameboy. Following my modus operendi, I said “NOPE.” Then I would scramble to get the gameboy put back into Jay’s closet. Lucky for me, no one ever really knew that I had it, wink.

The other thing that I coveted as a child was the bouncy ball. Hopefully you are all familiar with what I am referring to, but just in case I have one with me today. Now it wasn’t like I didn’t have any bouncy balls that were my own. I had lots of them, all different sizes and even shapes. Yes, I even had a bouncy ball that wasn’t round. Suffice it to say one bounce and you were done playing with that ball.

Now for some reason I must not have been taught all Ten Commandments. If I had been taught number ten, which says not to covet your brothers’ gameboy or neighbors bouncy ball, I would have behaved much better as a child. But I must have been tired and so mom only got through number 9 before I was asleep.

But like I was saying, I loved bouncy balls and my coveting drove me to sneak occasionally into my other brother Matt’s room. He had a junk drawer that contained some bouncy balls as well. And I would go in every once and a while and swipe one. Then in the fourth grade I encountered the biggest bouncy ball I had ever seen. My classmate’s name was William and he was a bit on the goofy side. But this ball that he had brought to school grabbed my attention on recess. Luckily, or maybe unluckily, William sat in the desk directly to my right. Our desks were pushed right up against each other, and I was successful in sneaking my hand into the left half of his desk in order to obtain that bouncy ball. I am embarrassed today to admit it. My name is Mike, and I am a kleptomaniac.

What is interesting to me this morning is that these are fun stories to tell, but the truth is that I knew I wasn’t supposed to do those things. Even at that young age, I knew the difference between right and wrong, but I just didn’t care. So I want to present a question to you this morning: What is the big deal with sin?

I want to tell you another story this morning. This is a true story and perhaps some of you will be familiar with it. If you are, don’t ruin it for your neighbor. A long time ago in a far away land there was a young king. It was spring time, the time when kings go off to war, but for some reason this king decided to stay back at the palace and to entrust the army to his best leaders. The army destroyed the Ammonites and besieged a city called Rabbah, but the king stayed in Jerusalem.

This young king was quite the famous man. His name was David, and he had accomplished great things already in his life. As a young boy he was the only one brave enough to stand up to the Philistine giant. And God personally chose to take him from the shepherd fields to Jerusalem to be king of Israel.

One evening David was in bed but he was restless, so he got up and took a walk on the roof of his palace. As he looked out over the city, he noticed a woman on another rooftop. She was bathing and David took note of her beauty. In fact, David was so taken by her beauty that he sent one of his servants to find out more about her. The servant came back with his report, “Her name is Bathsheba. She is the daughter of Eliam and the wife of Uriah the Hittite.”

David, coveting what did not belong to him, sent messengers to get her. Bathsheba came to the palace and David slept with her. Bathsheba returned to her empty house. With her husband away at war, no one would have to know what had happened. But much to the surprise of the king, Bathsheba conceived and sent a message to David saying, “I am pregnant.”