The Prophet Nathan shows up and tells David a story. The moral of the story? Power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely. That’s the sermon in six words, by the way: Power corrupts. Absolute power corrupts absolutely.

Once there was a rich man with herds and herds of sheep, and a poor man with only one lamb. The poor man loved his little sheep. Yet when the rich man had visitors, he took the poor man’s sheep and served it to his guests.

David is enraged. “The rich man deserves to die!”

“You are the rich man,” comes Nathan’s reply.

David saw Bathsheba. He used his power and influence to not only rape her but also to arrange for her husband, Uriah the Hittite, to die in battle. David, who already had seven wives, took another for himself. Nathan shows up and condemns him, telling him the consequences of his actions: that his own house will be filled with turmoil.

It would be as if a pastor just showed up and told us a story:

Once upon a time, there was a church that wanted to feed people. It looked around and saw hungry elementary school students just a block away. The church folk organized and got rid of all the canned food they didn’t want. Some even checked the expiration dates—but many didn’t. The church folk swooped in and gave the students 20 pounds of canned food and some granola bars for good measure.

Let’s do what Congregationalists do best and take a vote. Was this a good thing? Thumbs up for good, thumbs down for bad.

Well… here’s some more information. Most of these children weighed around 50–60 pounds. It was hard for them to carry a third of their weight. The kids threw the cans in the bushes and took home the granola bars.

Let’s vote again…

Well, friends. We are that church.

We once gave food no one wanted. We did not treat our neighbor as we would want to be treated. It would be like giving a grilled cheese sandwich to someone who is lactose intolerant. It would be like giving steak to a vegetarian. That’s what we did.

Being David and Being Nathan

When Nathan shows up, he points out sin. It would be tempting for us, as the church, to just act like Nathan—to only point out sin. Many churches do just that.

But Nathan doesn’t just accuse David. He tells the story in a way that David can hear it.

David is convicted, and he repents. That doesn’t stop the bad thing from having happened. But David sees himself. He doesn’t kill the messenger. He doesn’t try to justify his bad behavior. David says, “I have sinned against the Lord.” He doesn’t repeat this behavior.

We are also David in this story. We’re not just Nathan. We can do wrong, and we need to be called out for it. Churches have a long list of abuses of power and people, both in big and small ways.

I hope, as your pastor, that I can be called out. And that you, church, can be called out. That is how we become better—by being in a covenant relationship that builds us both up.

Toxic Charity

In Toxic Charity: How Churches and Charities Hurt Those They Help, Robert Lupton highlights the importance of relationships.

In his decades of urban ministry, Lupton has found that “doing for rather than doing with those in need is the norm.” We are called to work with folks. To ask what they need. He goes on to write: “Add to it the combination of patronizing pity and unintended superiority, and charity becomes toxic.”

Often, well-meaning people don’t see their power. They try to help, but that help actually hurts. Often, we act without realizing the full extent of our actions.

Lupton works from the twin ideas of mercy and justice, which have equal emphasis in Scripture. As he writes: “The addict needs both food and treatment. Street kids need both friendship and jobs.”

We heard from Skip Sipos today about the emergency shelter. When we first started working on this, some in the faith community wanted the clients to do Bible study or prayer. But I firmly believe: People don’t need a Bible. They need a bed. They don’t need prayer. They need a warm place. If they ask why we’re doing this, then we can say it’s because of our faith. Not before.

Seeing Our Neighbor

Most importantly, Lupton stresses the need for ongoing relationships:

“To effectively impact a life, a relationship must be forged, trust built, accountability established. And this does not happen in long, impersonal lines of strangers.”

Since our canned-food debacle, we have worked with the elementary schools. We have worked with administrators and families. Christ said to feed the hungry. But Christ also implored us to be as innocent as doves and as wise as serpents. This is why we do what we do. It’s foundational to our culture. It’s why we hired Rev. Meghan Malone—to ensure relationships stay strong with our mission partners.

The Isolation Crisis

In today’s text, we see the lack of social capital.

David didn’t see Bathsheba. He only saw her beauty—and his lust for that beauty. He didn’t see her as a connected, autonomous person with her own agency. He dehumanized her in his power. And he was called out for it.

The consequences? His house became a mess—civil war, sibling rivalry, and power struggles for the throne. The church in America and, in many ways, our society are also a mess. Clubs are on the decline. Church is on the decline. We are more isolated and lonely than ever before. Ironically, we have never been so technologically connected.

When the Frenchman Alexis de Tocqueville came to study America in the 1830s, he reported back, “Wherever at the head of some new undertaking you see the government in France, or a man of rank in England, in the United States you would be sure to find an association.” This is the beginning of the documentary, Join or Die. It’s the work of Robert Putnam, a man who has influenced my life greatly. I yearn for community but I also know the pain of being rejected by community. We need community now more than ever.

How can we be more connected yet treat each other so horribly?

We are hiding ourselves from our neighbors. We want a quick fix of community, not the real work of being in community.

The Dopamine Crisis

We have become dopamine addicts. We want our facts like our food: fast. We doomscroll for a quick hit of outrage. We turn to cable news for the jolt of dopamine. Yet it’s a bad diet. Go through the chart.

Dr. Anna Lembke, in her book Dopamine Nation, shares an example:

A college student spent most of her waking hours on Instagram, YouTube, podcasts, and playlists. I suggested she try walking to class without listening to anything and just letting her thoughts bubble up. She looked at me—incredulous and afraid.

A week later, she returned. “It was hard at first. But then I got used to it… and I started noticing the trees.”

Seeing Again

David noticed Bathsheba. But he didn’t see her—not until Nathan told his story.

Power corrupts. David had absolute power, and he was corrupted—absolutely.

We cannot silence the voices of the prophets who call us back to God’s ways of love.

We must see our neighbor. Love our neighbor as ourselves.

There is no quick fix to what is facing us. There is work.

We are called to be the hands and feet of Christ in the world.

And that sounds great… until we remember that those hands and feet have holes in them. Nail marks.

There is pain. Anyone who tells you otherwise is selling something.

Don’t buy it. Instead. Join a club. Join a committee here at the church. Let’s get to work.

Bibliography

Goetz, David L. Death by Suburbs: How to Keep the Suburbs from Killing Your Soul. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 2006.

Lembke, Anna. Dopamine Nation: Finding Balance in the Age of Indulgence. New York: Dutton, 2021.

Lupton, Robert D. Toxic Charity: How Churches and Charities Hurt Those They Help (and How to Reverse It). New York: HarperOne, 2011.

Putnam, Robert D. Bowling Alone: The Collapse and Revival of American Community. New York: Simon & Schuster, 2000.

———. Our Kids: The American Dream in Crisis. New York: Simon & Schuster, 2015.

———. Join or Die. Directed by Rebecca Davis and Pete Davis. PBS, 2023. Documentary Film.