THE PATHWAY OF THOSE WHO WILL FAIL MORALLY

Irewamiri and I had questions to ask our dear teacher and mentor about the finances of a young family like ours. He looked at us and said, “In my few years on earth, I have seen some of my friends fail morally, and all of them admitted that they first started by failing financially. Any man who fails to be financially transparent will soon fail morally.”

I remembered what a dear father said: “You do not know how much of a sinner you can be until you have money. It takes money to finance adultery.”

David committed adultery with Bathsheba. He had all the means to cover his tracks. The state power was at his beck and call. He could make a man disappear without being directly involved. He had the means. He had the position. He had the power. He abused it for sinful gain.

Solomon started out making sacrifices to the Lord, but the first international treaty he signed came with the gift of a woman- a Princess. He must have rationalised it.

And Solomon made affinity with Pharaoh king of Egypt, and took Pharaoh’s daughter, and brought her into the city of David until he had made an end of building his own house, and the house of the LORD, and the wall of Jerusalem roundabout.
1 Kings 3:1 KJV

But that was the beginning of keeping a harem of princesses. It became a pattern.

But king Solomon loved many strange women, together with the daughter of Pharaoh, women of the Moabites, Ammonites, Edomites, Zidonians, and Hittites; And he had seven hundred wives, princesses, and three hundred concubines: and his wives turned away his heart.
1 Kings 11:1‭, ‬3 KJV

Again, he had the position, the power, and the possession. It did not look like a big deal.

You must have discovered that temptation and sin thrive in secrecy. Once you have a secret to keep, the temptation to misbehave cannot be far.

One way out of this temptation is to live your life like an open book, especially to your spouse and those who can hold you accountable.

If you know that your job takes you from city to city for a couple of days, make sure you are transparent. If you stay in a hotel, ask not to be given any room with a pool view before you become a victim of soft pornography, and your weakness pounces on you like an armed bandit.

Many men who fell had no one who could ask them questions. By the time David fell, he was surrounded by”Yes men”. They brought him, Bathsheba, without asking questions. They organised the murder of Uriah without raising a question. It was the king’s order. They were his boys. They needed his favour.

What if David has Samuel and Jonathan around him at that time? They were a picture of a Pastor, a father figure, and a covenant friend. Some relationships must not go into oblivion in your life.

The devil needs just a little gap- a tiny space is enough for him to build his operations room.

Do you notice that your colleague warms up to you when your wife or husband is acting cold?

Do you notice you enjoy the attention that comes from those ladies who use endearments for you? You are now rationalising the conversations. ” I did not know how it happened” often begins with “It is not a big deal”.

Dear man and woman, thread softly, be transparent and embrace accountability.

The answer to “Where are you?” is not “I am coming”. The answer is stating precisely where you are. Is that not transparency?

temilOluwa Ola, Eruwa