Who's Your Nathan?

Okay, so most of you are familiar with the story of David and Bathsheba. For those who are not, a quick recap: David was walking on the roof of his palace one day (probably a bad idea in the first place... I'm sure he could have fallen...) and he happened to see through a window a woman bathing. Finding her quite beautiful, he found out that her name was Bathsheba, and she was married. But he sent for her to come and sleep with him. Soon after, David finds out that she has become pregnant. Wishing to hide his sin, David arranges for Bathsheba's husband, Uriah, to be placed on the front lines of a battle in which his death is imminent. And verily, as soon as Uriah dies, David takes Bathsheba to be his wife and their child is born.

In the very next chapter, Nathan comes on the scene. To understand the scope of this relationship, you must know that Nathan is the prophet of God in Jerusalem at this time. Throughout the book of 2 Samuel we see Nathan bringing the divine revelation of God to David. You can imagine that David, being a man after God's own heart, held Nathan in high regard. Certainly he took to heart anything Nathan said. So here we see Nathan starting out with a story, and I'm just gonna quote here:

"There were two men in one city, the one rich and the other poor.
The rich man had a great many flocks and herds.
But the poor man had nothing except one little ewe lamb
Which he bought and nourished;
And it grew up together with him and his children.
It would eat of his bread and drink of his cup and lie in his bosom,
And was like a daughter to him.
Now a traveler came to the rich man,
And he was unwilling to take from his own flock or his own herd,
To prepare for the wayfarer who had come to him;
Rather he took the poor man's ewe lamb and prepared it for the man who had come to him."

"Then David's anger burned greatly against the man, and he said to Nathan, "As the LORD lives, surely the man who has done this deserves to die. He must make restitution for the lamb fourfold, because he did this thing and had no compassion."

No sooner do these words come out of David's mouth than Nathan reveals to him that he is that man in the story. For the full response check out 2 Samuel 12:7-12, but basically from there Nathan delivers this speech, inspired by God, to rebuke David and pronounce his punishment.

If you've made it this far, please forgive me for the length of this post. This story is crucial to understanding my point though. Assuming that none of your friends are regularly receiving divine revelations from God about you, who's going to be your Nathan? Who is close enough to God and to you to be able to bring your sin issues to you, even when you try to cover them up or try to ignore them? Because there needs to be someone. God can provide conviction through the Holy Spirit, but he provides accountability through our closest friends.

If there is nobody, are you allowing people to get close to you? I don't mean in an emotional way, but in a very real and unmasking way. It needs to be somebody who experiences struggles different than yours. It feels better to commiserate with people who share in your battle, but it is infinitely more beneficial to receive help from someone who isn't in the same sinking boat. And if I may get bold here, I would say that in most cases, it needs to be someone of the same gender. Guys are going to better understand how to hold other guys accountable, and girls are going to understand girls. That's just how it works. Who's your Nathan? (Nathanette?)

Let somebody in. Let somebody close. It will take humility, but as soon as you do, you will find your battle with sin suddenly lightened. Ecclesiastes 4:12 says "And if one can overpower him who is alone, two can resist him. A cord of three strands is not quickly torn apart." You can't do it alone. You may succeed for awhile, but sin will never lessen its temptation, and without somebody to show you when you are walking off the path, and to guide you back, you will only fall in deeper and deeper. Find somebody. Open up to a friend. Stop being arrogant and believing that eventually you will beat sin on your own strength. You need help. Who's your Nathan?