There's an old saying that the more things change the more they stay the same. The premise of this old adage is that although this world is continually advancing, maybe a little too fast in my opinion, the core foundations and principles that balance this world stay pretty much the same. Clothing styles have drastically changed over my lifetime, yet basically outfits still consist of a top, a bottom, and accessories such as shoes and belts or purses and other accouterments. Another example of this adage can be found in the auto industry. Sure we have electric and self-driving vehicles today, but at the base level these vehicles still have four wheels, some type of motor, and inside almost any car you can find there is a radio situated on the dash somewhere. The life we are living fits into this category as well. The more society changes, the more people change and the more we learn to adapt to the new normal, the more things ultimately remain the same.
As we consider the concept of things changing while at the same time remaining the same, I'd like to share a story from the Bible that spotlights how in days of old and down through the history of man this theory proves itself to be as relevant then as it is still today. (The more things change the more they stay the same!) This particular story circles around a theme of coveting what our neighbor has. King David was a powerful and mighty ruler for the Kingdom of Israel. You could hypothesize that David could pretty much breathe the words. "I want ..." and there would be a host of servants readily beckoning his every desire. Some may be familiar with this not so glorious chapter from King David's life, so I will hit the high water marks from this II Samuel chapters 11-12 saga for the sake of respecting our time together today. While David was meandering around on a nighttime rooftop walk, he noticed a woman bathing on a nearby rooftop. She, Bathsheba, was beautiful and the King "wanted" her. His servants brought Bathsheba to his quarters, David took her and she ultimately became pregnant with David's baby. The problem was Bathsheba was a married woman. Her husband Uriah was a soldier fighting in King David's army. After David tried to conceal, unsuccessfully, the sinful betrayal by trying to get Uriah to be with his wife after bringing him home for a furlough from the fighting, the king gave orders to have Uriah sent to the front lines of the battle and ensure he would be killed in the line of duty to his country and king. This happened and David married Bathsheba, their child was born, but soon thereafter the child became sick and died as predicted by the prophet Nathan. This was definitely not a high water mark for the same man who slayed Goliath and scribed a vast number of the psalms filled with praises and worship to our God. This constitutes a firm example of the covetousness of man and leads us into how things may have changed today, but ultimately I believe you will agree they pretty much remain the same.
Coveting by definition means an intense desire for something that belongs to someone else. In our society today covetousness rears its ugly head in so much of our daily culture today. Our neighbor gets a new ride, we have to get a newer ride. A five bathroom house goes up in our neighborhood and suddenly we have a "need" for a six bathroom house, even if there are only four people living in the house! Or, if we see that the biggest celebrity star just purchased a new custom designed Italian dress, we would do anything to have one just like hers! But our covetousness has found a totally new way of being expressed. Social media has created a global world at our fingertips where we can connect with anyone and or groups of thousands anywhere at any given moment. What that has created is a world where we want more symbols of acceptance than the person we envy and want to outperform on our site of choice. This envy runs deep creating our example of the covetousness of man in today's world. We want what someone else has whether it is the number of followers or if it is the total of likes our posting receives. The extreme measures that David resorted to may seem unrealistic in today's society, yet if we step back and reflect, the extent to which society is willing to go to reach their personal milestones may reveal that we are not a society far removed from the world of the ancient King David. The more things change the more they stay the same.
So, some of our reading audience may be thinking, "I thought Flat Tire Ministries was supposed to be inspiring??" Not so much so far but, you are one hundred percent correct. Although the context of our message today has been a not so positive reflection on the nature of man, the potential for a positive outcome is most certainly readily available. The impetus for today's message was berthed in a resoundingly truthful scripture found in the Book of Hebrews in the New Testament. "Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever." Hebrews 13:8. The more this world advances, and as the reliance on technology and technological advances decreases the desire to stay founded in a faith that places trust and hope in things that may be unseen to the human eye, but all along things do remain the same! (Hebrews 11:1). The covetousness of King David cost him the death of a son, yet after David sought redemption from his sin, Bathsheba bore him another son that would go on to become known to mankind as one of the wisest men in history, King Solomon. And that same redemption from our sins is available to you and I today.
Maybe your conviction isn't covetedness, it really doesn't matter, we have all sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. (Romans 3:23). The sins of today are packaged in material purchases, the chase for non-tangible riches, and the lure of the ways of this world we live in, yet on a basic level they are still connected to the sins that have trapped humans throughout the annals of history. Although the sin remains the same regardless of how different it looks today, the loving mercy and grace of God has never changed and it remains unchanging today. As a matter of fact, the love of God displayed in the embodiment of the Son of God remains the same yesterday, and today, and forever! Knock, seek, and you will find Him, today, yesterday, and forever! Amen.
Coach Carter
