David burned with anger against the man and said to Nathan, “As surely as the Lord lives, the man who did this must die! He must pay for that lamb four times over, because he did such a thing and bad no pity”

2 Samuel 12:7-8

It is interesting when people viciously attack others who have fallen in sin. Such people could usually be guilty of the same offense. Their reaction reveals their weakness in that same area.

A case in point is David’s reaction when Nathan confronted him with the Bathsheba debacle (2 Samuel 12:1-6). The scripture says that David “burned with anger against” the insensitive man in the story. David pronounced a harsh judgment against the man; yet, he was guilty in the same (5b-6). As Nathan told him, “You are the [guilt] man!” (12:7).

We have a natural tendency to condemn those who fall in sin. The scene in the story of the adulterous woman and the mob exemplifies this absurdity. The people were guilty of sin, yet; they stood ready to stone somebody. Can we cast our stone in that story today?

How then should we react to the sinful acts of others? Should we ignore them? Should we encourage them with the usual, “Don’t worry; we all sin” reaction?

We can draw some lessons from the story.

First, we must acknowledge our vulnerability to sin. Second, we should not forget God’s love and His grace upon us through Christ Jesus. We must love those who get caught in sin with the same love God has shown us in salvation. We must help them rise from their sin and repent. Yes, we must hate their sin. Yet, we must help them move away from their sin with love (Gal. 6:1). That’s how Nathan handled David’s sin situation, and we too can do the same with others

We should stop shooting our wounded with sharp tongues. Rather, we should examine ourselves in repentance. That is the only time we can help the fallen with grace to repent and heal. Finally, we should thank God for keeping us from falling. We are as vulnerable as they are, but for grace (1 John. 1:9).