And the men of the city went out, and fought with Joab: and there fell some of the people of the servants of David; and Uriah the Hittite died also. — 2 Samuel 11:17
I have heard a lot of advice in my life, some good and some bad. One of the best pieces of advice that I ever received is that every decision has a consequence and it has its effect on others. I certainly did not realize that as much when I was younger, but I certainly have learned more about that as my life has progressed. Each and every decision I make has a consequence, again, some good and some bad. In the verse of Scripture, we hear the story of Uriah the Hittite, a warrior of David who was sent into the battle. It was not the fact that Uriah was sent into the battle, because he was a warrior after all. It was the decision that led Uriah to the battle.
It started with a bad decision by David. He saw Bathsheba washing on the roof and he lusted after her. He brought her into his house and she ended up being pregnant, but she was the wife of Uriah the Hittite. David tried to cover his sin in any way possible, but throughout the entire situation, Uriah remained faithful to the cause. He was a committed warrior and was not going to waiver from his commitment.
Finally, David sent him into the hottest battle. Uriah could have tried to get out of it, but he faithfully went. He remained true to the cause and it cost him his life. On one hand, we see that David made a bad decision, on the other, we see that Uriah made a faithful decision.
A lot of people share this Scripture to talk about decisions, and that is certainly the case and it is a great example of that. But what I want you to see here is not so much the choices, but the example of faithfulness that Uriah displayed. He could have disregarded his role in the army, going into his house to spend time with his wife and covering David’s sin. He could have tried to get out of the orders of the King, knowing that the battle would be hot and he would probably die.
Instead, Uriah chose to remain faithful at all costs. It did not matter which way the political winds blew, how he was being influenced by popular opinion or his friends, or anything else. Through the whole ordeal, Uriah chose to remain faithful. Do we have that same faithfulness in our lives that no matter the cost we would remain true?
If we were put into a situation, knowing there may be a high cost to pay, would we remain faithful? Every choice we make has consequences and Uriah’s choice to remain faithful cost him his life. Do you have enough faith in God that you would remain faithful, even if you knew it could cost you everything?