Governor Sanford could learn from King David

July 3, 5:46 PMOrlando Bible Study ExaminerBobby Amadeus

Previous Next

Comment Print Email RSS Subscribe

Subscribe

Get alerts when there is a new article from the Orlando Bible Study Examiner. Read Examiner.com's terms of use.

Email Address   Include other special offers from Examiner.com Terms of Use

(AP Photo/Mary Ann Chastain)

South Carolina Governor Mark Sanford and his family are spending the July 4th weekend in Florida after stating again that he has no plans on stepping down from his official position and declaring that he “remains committed and determined to repair the damage he has done in his marriage and to building back the trust of the people of South Carolina,” according to spokesman Joel Sawyer.

An Associated Press article published on July 2 describes Sanford as a “man writhing in agony as his emotions battle his sense of duty to his wife, to their four sons, to his office” because even though his Argentine mistress is his “soul mate,” he has “a commitment before God” to his wife.

Sanford told AP that, “I do have a love for my wife. I do have a love for my boys. I do have a love for the farm. I do have a love for the world of ideas and politics.” Unfortunately, he told Maria Belen Chapur, the other woman, that “despite the best efforts of my head my heart cries out for you, your voice, your body, the touch of your lips, the touch of your finger tips and an even deeper connection to your soul.”

Warren “Cubby” Culbertson, a close friend of Sanford and an influential Bible study leader has been counseling the Governor and his wife attempting to help them rebuild the trust and mutual love that their marriage once had before Sanford’s fall. Culbertson, who has counseled several men in similar positions, said that “Everybody starts with the same exact story: ‘We got to be friends. We started talking. I didn’t mean for anything to happen. That’s exactly where a sin begins.”

Sanford did not one day wake up intending to commit adultery. He took that path one small step at a time beginning with an innocent meeting beside a beachside dance floor in Uruguay.

This story is reminiscent of the story of King David who innocently strolled out onto his rooftop and noticed a “woman bathing; and the woman was very beautiful in appearance” (2 Samuel 11:2). King David also did not wake up intending to commit adultery. But, after a few small steps, he quickly found himself in a lot of trouble.

In his story, King David’s first mistake is shirking his official responsibilities. “Then it happened in the spring, at the time when kings go out to battle, that David sent” all of his soldiers and commanders out to fight the enemy. “But David stayed at Jerusalem” (verse 1). In that time period, it was the king’s job to lead their forces into battle and yet, he stayed home. If he had gone out with his troops, he would not have been on the rooftop overlooking the bathing beauty.

Governor Sanford met his mistress beside a dance floor in Uruguay. Was he there on professional business or was it a vacation. If the former is true, then how did he end up on a dance floor? If the later is true, then why wasn’t his wife there with him?

The governor’s first lesson from the king is that when we fail to keep our priorities in order, it opens the door for sin to find a way in.

It may seem odd to modern day readers that a king would wander onto a rooftop and see a lady taking a bath. But… continued on page 2.