By David Hegg
In my world of evangelical church ministry, we recently suffered a substantial spiritual earthquake. A man nationally and internationally respected for decades of faithful biblical teaching was exposed as an unfaithful husband, deceitful leader and arrogant hypocrite. To make the news of his failure even more devastating, he was the fifth nationally respected clergyman to disqualify himself morally this year.
And it got me thinking. How does this happen? How do people with everything going for them start down the road to ruin? My query sent me back to the Old Testament story of King David, who, despite being described as “a man after God’s own heart,” incrementally eased himself down the path that led to adultery and murder. Well, I’ll tell you how and give you the steps to take if you want to ruin your life. It might be good to read the story of David and Bathsheba in the Bible, found in 2 Samuel 11.
Step No. 1: Convince yourself that living an undisciplined life poses no risk
As the story opens, David, Israel’s commander-in-chief, should have been with his army on the battlefield, leading his men in combat. Instead, he was on the elevated roof of his house, escaping the heat of the day, taking a nap.
No longer was he the disciplined shepherd, soldier, or God-fearer whose life was shaped by his passion to reflect the character of his God. His fame and popularity with the........