II Samuel 11:2-4 “And it came to pass in an eveningtide, that David arose from off his bed, and walked upon the roof of the king’s house: and from the roof he saw a woman washing herself; and the woman was very beautiful to look upon. And David sent and enquired after the woman. And one said, Is not this Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam, the wife of Uriah the Hittite? And David sent messengers, and took her; and she came in unto him, and he lay with her; for she was purified from her uncleanness: and she returned unto her house.”
II Samuel 12:5 “And David’s anger was greatly kindled against the man; and he said to Nathan, As the LORD liveth, the man that hath done this thing shall surely die”
Adam Galinsky, a professor at Columbia Business School, is a prolific researcher and writer. Over the course of his career, he has focused on the impact of power upon character. He has found that there is a strong correlation between power and selfishness, diminished empathy, corrupt relationships, and over-confidence. In his 2010 work “Power Increases Hypocrisy: Moralizing in Reasoning, Immorality in Behavior” Dr. Galinsky came to the following conclusions:
- “Across five experiments, irrespective of how power was manipulated or hypocrisy measured, we found strong evidence that the powerful are more likely to engage in moral hypocrisy than those lacking power.”
- “Across these experiments, the powerful judged their own moral transgressions more acceptable but the same transgressions committed by others less acceptable compared to low-power participants.”
- “This means that people with power not only take what they want because they can do so unpunished, but also because they intuitively feel they are entitled to do so.”
As a powerful nation, we have grown selfish. We have grown overconfident. We have grown entitled. We are characterized by diminished empathy, corrupt relationships, and chronic hypocrisy. We take what we want, do what we want and think what we want while growing angry when others do the same. We live unrestrained by morals while holding others to a higher standard. It happened to a “man after God’s own heart” and it is happening to a nation blessed similarly.
PLEASE PRAY THAT OUR NATION WOULD CRY OUT – WE HAVE SINNED AGAINST THE LORD. David did and we will never once again thrive as a nation if we continue in moral hypocrisy.
