Not long ago, I saw a television program where answers to test questions contained in envelopes,were given to individuals. The people with the envelopes were told, in no uncertain terms, that they were not to look inside the envelope that contained the information.
\\r\\nInstead, they were to get on the elevator on the floor where they received the envelope, go up several floors and present the envelope to a person who would be waiting to receive it.
\\r\\nHere was the catch, though. The envelope was not sealed. Every person had the option of opening the envelope, looking at the answers to the questions, then reinserting the sheet of paper in the envelope, and as far as they knew, no one would ever be the wiser.
\\r\\nThere was just one little surprise! It seems the producers of the program had installed a hidden camera in the elevator, which recorded the behavior of the individuals who had promised not to look inside the envelope at the answers to the test questions.
\\r\\nAs you might have already imagined, over 50% of the people snuck a look at the answers. But what’s more, they didn’t just look at the answers. When they arrived at their destination and turned in the envelope, when asked if they had opened their envelope up, they all denied doing so. With a straight face they looked another person in the eye as they lied. Seems one sneaky action made it easier for another.
\\r\\nIn my own life, I’ve always found one of the most probing questions to be, “How would I act if I thought no one was watching? What would my behavior be like if I really thought I could do something I knew I shouldn’t and yet I could get away with it?” I think for each of us this is an extremely critical question and I’ll tell you why.
\\r\\nIn God’s perfect universe, where the toxin of sin had not ravaged the lives of any of God’s sons and daughters, there was a perfect trust that is unlike anything you or I know or understand. Right behavior was the routine of the day, not because of a fear of punishment or God’s wrath, but because it was right. I call this doing right for the right reason. But once the bond of trust was broken and Adam and Eve chose to do their own thing, regardless of the consequences, an entirely different atmosphere developed. Fear entered into the equation. A fear that brought with it actions such as Adam and Eve hiding from their own Creator.
\\r\\nEver since that day, with the quality of trust fragmented, God’s children have “hidden” their sins, afraid of the consequences of their behavior. Instead of being open about our faults with our Father, we try to cover them up or hide them from the scrutiny of others around us.
\\r\\nAnd this brings me to Temptation #3 which Uriah faced. After spending several days with the king; after being solicited for advice on how things were going in the war; after being asked about his personal opinion of Joab; after having the king enquire as to the thinking of the people about the war effort; and finally after spending time in the palace, being wined and dined by the king, Uriah could have easily been led to believe he had won the Israelite lottery! Seems he had the king’s ear. Add to this the fact that in the morning, before Uriah left to go back to the war, King David called him in and asked him to take a private message to Joab, leader of the king’s army. What an honor. What a trusted soldier. And it was at this moment Uriah could have let the king’s adulation go to his head. He could have thought he could get away with something, maybe even take advantage of the king.
\\r\\nWhen no one was looking, Uriah could have run over to see Bathsheba for remember, she lived close enough to David’s palace she was visible from his rooftop. Nobody needed to know.
\\r\\nBut there’s also another thing Uriah could have done when no one was watching. He could have read the note he was carrying and then when he found out what was in it never delivered it to Joab. But remember, to do so would mean that trust between the king and his valiant soldier no longer existed. So rather than shatter the bond of trust, Uriah took the note, never stopped on his journey until he got back to camp, and in doing so, we find he delivered his own “death decree” to the king’s general
\\r\\nThe author Susannah Centlivre made this astute observation, “Nobody can boast of honesty till they are tried.” It was in the greatest moment of trial when Uriah faced three temptations, presented to him by God’s King David, that we find the real worth of this man – a man of integrity who when no one was watching, chose to behave as if the God of heaven and earth had His eyes on him.
\\r\\nI’ve always appreciated the words of William Shakespeare in the tragic play Hamlet for they are oh, so true: “This above all to thine own self be true. And it must follow, as the night the day, Thou canst not then be false to any man (or woman)!”
\\r\\nWhat would I have done? What would you have done if you’d been Uriah and nobody else was watching? It’ a daily question we face – “How do I act when no one else is watching?”
\\r\\n“Live so that the preacher can tell the truth at your funeral.”
\\r\\nK. Beckstrom
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