Changi Chapel

It happened, late one afternoon, when David arose from his couch and was walking on the roof of the king’s house, that he saw from the roof a woman bathing; and the woman was very beautiful. (2 Samuel 11:2)

We are never more vulnerable to sin than when we are successful, admired by others, and prosperous, as King David tragically discovered.

Imagine him reflecting on his adultery a year later.

There on the roof alone, he had lingered. And in those minutes, sinful indulgence metastasized into a wicked, ultimately lethal plan.

David wept. His lustful selfishness had stripped a married woman of her honor, murdered her loyal, valiant husband.

And he shuddered at the Lord’s dark promise: “The sword will never depart from your house”(2 Samuel 12:10).

How had he come to this?

Had a man ever been so blessed by God? Every promise to him had been kept.

Everything David touched had flourished. Never had Israel as a nation been so spiritually alive, so politically stable, so wealthy, so militarily powerful.

And at the peak of this unprecedented prosperity, David had committed such heinous sin.

Why? Almost as soon as the question formed in his mind he knew the answer.

Pride. Monstrous, self-obsessed pride -  the poisonous weed of self-worship had grown insidiously in David’s heart.

David fell on his face and wept again. And he poured out his broken, contrite heart to God.

The greatest enemy of our souls is the pathologically selfish pride at the core of our fallen natures. If we look deep enough, this is what we will find feeding the strong, sinful cravings of our appetites.

And this is why prosperity can be so spiritually dangerous. We tend to see our need for God more clearly in adversity.

Self-exalting pride is what leads us to usurp God’s rightful rule.

We must beware  of this danger that lurks in blessings.

Will success bring you to a place of grateful awe and godly dependence – or prideful independence?


Jon Bloom
Author/Bible Teacher

© Jon Bloom. Desiring God Ministries. Excerpted and adapted from his recent writings.

Your comments, thoughts or suggestions are welcome. The body text is by the author, the header and the words in italics are mine – John B. Samuel