Ep.1005: Does God Bless Us When We Act in an Unrighteous Way?

David of the Old Testament was called “a man after God’s own heart.”  His life was tumultuous, tragic at times and varied to say the least.  David at a young age was anointed to be the next king of Israel and went from being the young man who killed the giant Goliath to becoming a highly respected and sought after warrior in Saul’s army.  When Saul’s heart turned dark, David’s death became Saul’s obsession.  Here is where the whole "acting in an unrighteous way" comes into play.  The Old Testament records several instances of David lying and making up stories to escape the unstable and obsessive reach of Saul.  At first glance we might have polar opposite reactions.  Some might say that this is not so bad – the guy is a madman and David needed to escape.  Others might say that this way off the mark as lying is clearly and repetitively condemned in Scripture.

Here we have a man after God’s own heart – who on several occasions did not tell the truth.  Here is the thing...God blessed him throughout his life so we have to ask if that blessing was at all because of these specific untruths or was it in spite of them, or could the answer contain some of both?  Let’s look at what we know.  God simply does not bless unrighteous behavior.  He does, however, bless those who are truly seeking to do His will, in spite of their unrighteous behavior.  Where does that leave us with David and consequences for his actions?

Check out our January 22, 2018 podcast, “Does God Bless Us when we act in an Unrighteous Way?” and see where some of the untruths of David’s survival tactics fit in with the blessing of God.  Some of the answers here may be surprising.  By the way, what about us?  Are we in the same category as David, or as Christians are we bound by different standards?  What are you waiting for?  Find out!