The grace of forgiveness can change sinners into kings

“When is having it good, not good enough?” Well, let’s answer that question by looking at the life of King David. Here is a guy who has it all. He’s an absolute monarch – and, unlike any other, he is the anointed one of the Lord. 

Imagine, a king appointed by God!  It doesn’t get much better than that! King David had not one but two wives, Abigail and Ahinoam, lots of children, a palace, soldiers at his beck and call. He had plenty of food, clothing on his back, good health and lots of money! 

But having it good was not good enough. Because one day he spots this beautiful woman named Bathsheba, the wife of one of his soldiers, Uriah the Hittite. Given the cornucopia of blessings he already enjoyed – David wanted her, too. He lusted after her. He coveted his soldier’s wife. He had relations with her. And that wasn’t good enough! 

No, he wanted Uriah out of the way so that he could have Bathsheba all to himself. You know, the ironic thing about the Ten Commandments is that usually breaking one has a domino effect.  Break one – you may break them all! And this is what happened to King David. Having it good was not good enough – he coveted his neighbor’s wife and goods, he lied, he stole what belonged to Uriah and committed adultery. 

He lied to his promise of fidelity to his wives. He had Uriah killed. By the very fact that he wanted it all or, worse, felt entitled to have it all – he wanted to be God and thereby violated the first two Commandments.

David would lose the favor of the Lord.  He would see his subjects suffer famine – and would even lose his adult son, Absalom and his infant son, born to Bathsheba. King David finally recognized himself as a sinner and he repented before the Lord. And God forgave him.

The interesting thing about forgiveness is that it penetrates our whole person, from the pores of our skin down deep into the recesses of our being, yes, even to the apex of the soul. The grace of forgiveness is like microsurgery – it removes every cell of hubris. It hurts – but it saves us from uncertain estrangement from the ground of our being – and reconciles us anew to the God who created us and redeemed us through his only Son, Jesus.

Sometimes, having it good is not good enough! We’ve all been guilty of the sin of King David, in one way or another – maybe not to the same extreme, but in the same vein. Let us reflect on those times when we did not appreciate our blessings, the greatest of which is faith in a God who loves us, faith in a God who is merciful, faith in a God who believes in us even when we fail to believe in Him. 

When is having it good not good enough?  When we take our eyes off God and focus on our “self,” when we make our “self,” some one or thing a surrogate for God. But if we repent – if we take stock of our shortcomings and return to the Lord wholeheartedly – we can be forgiven.  Yes, the grace of forgiveness is powerful, so much so that even King David the Sinner would later become St. David the King. 

Father Comandini is coordinator of the Office for Ongoing Faith Formation