“He must restore the ewe lamb seven times over because he did this and because he had no compassion.” – 2 Samuel 12:6 (CEB)
Nathan tells David a story. A rich man with huge flocks has a guest coming, and instead of using one of his own sheep, he takes his poor neighbor’s only lamb, a lamb the family had raised at their own table.
David is furious, and he pronounces sentence on the spot. His sense of right and wrong is working perfectly. He sees the injustice and names it exactly.
He just cannot see himself in the story. We are all sharper judges of other people’s stories than our own. We see others from the outside, where the action is obvious, and ourselves from the inside, where the reasons are obvious. David’s verdict was right. His blind spot was thinking it was about somebody else. Where is God inviting you to look honestly at your own story this week?
God who knows me from the inside, show me my own story as honestly as I see everyone else’s. Turn me toward you gently. Amen.