It happened, late one afternoon, when David rose from his couch and was walking about on the roof of the king’s house, that he saw from the roof a woman bathing; the woman was very beautiful.  David sent someone to inquire about the woman. It was reported, “This is Bathsheba daughter of Eliam, the wife of Uriah the Hittite.” – 2 Samuel 11:2-3 (NRSV)

Relevant magazine had an article in their recent issue about sexual activity among Christians with some startling results.  It seems that sex outside of marriage is as common among young Christians as non-Christians.  This speaks to the cultural acceptance of sex as just another thing we do with our time.  It is no longer an act of intimacy and devotion.  It is no longer about fidelity but fun.

This is where David takes his biggest wrong turn.  This is the moment the kingdom is split and the people of God become ruled by kings, good and bad, all because of a moment of infidelity.  David had lost sight of who and what God had called him to be and he would never be the same.  This induced David to write Psalm 51, a prayer of confession, repentance and forgiveness.

Our God is the God of fidelity.  He asks us to let our yes be yes and our no be no. If we say “Yes” to the sanctity of the relationship between a husband and wife, we are saying no to all other sexual relationships.  These are the difficult, but incredibly important conversations we need to have with our children.  We wait too long to teach them the beauty and importance of marriage.  We treat sex like it is some secret unmentionable activity instead of the joyful gift from God He has given to husbands and wives.  Our children will grow up being told all sorts for wrong information about sex and marriage and we have to stand against it.

I want my daughters to treasure the gift they will share with their husbands someday.  I want them to value the man they will marry someday enough to be disciplined in their purity and fidelity.  I hope that they will be drawn to young men who have the same dedication to purity and fidelity.  But I must first be committed to purity and fidelity in my marriage.  I need to show the love, honor and respect to my wife that reveals my commitment to her and her alone.

Lord, help me be a good husband.  Work in me your faithfulness and purity to set an example for my children.  May my children grow in their commitment to marriage, purity and fidelity.  Amen.