2 Samuel 11:2 And it came to pass in an eveningtide, that David arose from off his bed, and walked upon the roof of the king’s house: and from the roof he saw a woman washing herself; and the woman was very beautiful to look upon.

In a recent devotional I said “Don’t focus on the woman.” A dear friend took my advice and focused on the roof. Her point was that David had probably been there before. Point well taken, but was not the point of that devotional. So let us now talk about the roof.

From a pure standpoint of what a roof represents, it is not meant to be an observation point. Those are represented in the bible as windows and parapets. In this example it represents a high place, an advantage point, which it was not meant to represent.

In life this could be taking advantage of a natural position and abusing the position, such as being a supervisor or business owner. Abuse of power isn’t uncommon but we are not all in a position to worry about that danger. If you are in that position, take care not to cross those ethical lines of responsibility.

For most of us having information about a situation, private and perhaps secretive is more in-line with our positional advantage. Perhaps someone has placed trust in you, confided to you a thing which has burdened them. It might even be an observed behavior, something discovered which that party is not aware of your knowledge. The examples are too vast to cover them all.

How would you know if you are at risk of sinning because of this “position”? The position itself is not sin, only a “jumping off” point. What are the warning signs we should look out for here? I would have to say that David did not look away when he saw her naked. He observed her long enough to notice her beauty. So pondering on these observations is the first warning sign.

Do thoughts about a situation turn from an observation to an obsession? Do you think about it a little too much?

And still you have not sinned, but the warning signs are all there.

Genesis 4:7a If thou doest well, shalt thou not be accepted? and if thou doest not well, sin lieth at the door.

Opportunity knocks, sin lays in wait.

Allow me to ask one of my pointed questions. On which side of the door is sin? Looking at the issue of not doing well as being Cain’s sin, one might say it is on the inside of the door and does not need to knock.

Revelation 3:20 Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me.

Nearly every commentator of bible scriptures acknowledges that the door is the door to a sinner’s heart. John 14:23 supports that idea in the abiding presence of the Father and the Son. I do not have issue with that, but it is a door, not the heart. It is an obstacle that needs to be transformed into an entrance.

Psalm 119:11 Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee.

It is error to think that just because you answered the door and let Jesus it that sin fled through the open door as Jesus entered. Not so, the Word enters in to assist us that we “might” not sin. There is no exodus of sin, only light to shine upon it so that we “might” see it for what it is.

We have been set free from the power of sin but not its presence.

1 John 1:10 If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.

No matter how many times I vacuum under the bed, dust bunnies reappear. Do you know why? They are made up primarily dead skin cells and light has a difficult time shining under my bed. Such is the life we lead, chasing bunnies.