Bamboozled - If you want it, you deserve it | 2 Samuel 11-12
We’ve all been bamboozled.
We’ve all fallen for something that promised happiness, only to realize later that it left us emptier than before.
That’s exactly what happens to King David in one of the most disturbing stories in Scripture — the story of David and Bathsheba. It’s a story about power, desire, and the lie that says, “If you want it, you deserve it.”
The Lie Beneath the Surface
When life is going well, when things are comfortable and under control, that’s often when we’re most at risk. David wasn’t in a battle when this story unfolds. He was at home — distracted, comfortable, and idle.
It started small: a glance, a thought, a rationalization. But behind it all was a lie that still whispers to us today:
If I want it, I should have it.
If I crave it, I deserve it.
If it makes me happy, it can’t be wrong.
That’s how we get bamboozled.
Desire itself isn’t evil. God created us with longings — for beauty, for intimacy, for joy, for meaning. The problem isn’t that we want too much; it’s that we settle for too little.
As C.S. Lewis said in The Weight of Glory,
“It would seem that Our Lord finds our desires not too strong, but too weak.
We are half-hearted creatures, fooling about with drink and sex and ambition when infinite joy is offered us… We are far too easily pleased.”
The Numbness of a Distracted Heart
David’s sin didn’t come out of nowhere. It came from a distracted, numbed-out heart.
When we fill our lives with noise, hurry, and constant stimulation, we stop paying attention to what’s happening inside us. We stop listening to God. We stop noticing our own spiritual hunger.
And when our souls are starving, almost anything looks like food.
The Power That Corrupts Quietly
There’s another layer to this story — power.
David had power. He could take what he wanted, and no one could stop him. That’s what makes this story so tragic — not just the personal sin, but the abuse of power that destroys lives.
And while most of us don’t have David’s kind of authority, we all have influence — in our families, our workplaces, our communities. How we use that influence matters. Power and prosperity can quietly corrupt our hearts if we’re not careful.
The Grace That Confronts and Restores
But the story doesn’t end with failure.
God sends Nathan the prophet to confront David — not to condemn him, but to wake him up. Because that’s what grace does. It tells the truth. It pulls back the curtain. It refuses to let us stay numb.
And when David finally says, “I have sinned against the Lord,” forgiveness begins.
That’s the good news: no matter how deeply we’ve been bamboozled, God’s mercy runs deeper.
Learning to Want Again
If the lie is “If you want it, you deserve it,” the truth is this:
What you truly want can only be found in God.
Our wants aren’t the problem — they just need to be reoriented. God doesn’t want to erase our desires; He wants to heal them.
So maybe the first step is to slow down.
To get quiet enough to hear what’s really going on inside.
To let God show us the false wants that have taken over.
And then — to rediscover the joy we were made for.
Because when you know the One who made you, you realize that no shortcut, no distraction, no momentary pleasure can ever compare.
