Part I
One of the unique characteristics of the Bible is that it never white-washes its heroes! To me it’s a strong proof that God is the Author of the Bible, because when people write about themselves and their nations, they tend to cover up the negative aspects and present only the positive. But the Bible is very candid in telling us the sins and fatal flaws of some of its prominent people.
The reason for this is so that we can learn from them—both from the good parts and the bad parts. Certainly these people of faith have been a great encouragement to many through the ages, but they are also a warning to us that fatal flaws can and do attack everybody, and even the strongest Christian is vulnerable. Let’s look at some of these heroes of faith and their fatal flaws, for our own learning.
The first person who comes to mind is David. David was a man after God’s own heart because he trusted in God and stayed true to his faith through all kinds of adversity. He was humble, and his heart was soft toward God. He was an incredible man of God. Yet he had the fatal flaw of sexual attraction. He was easily distracted by women, and he never curtailed or controlled that sexual drive as a young man.
Eventually that fatal flaw was terribly costly to David. You know the story of his attraction to Bathsheba, the wife of Uriah. Because of his fatal flaw and his inability to control his sexual desires, once he saw Bathsheba and lusted for her, there was no stopping him. He committed adultery with her.
That led to what we call today an “unwanted pregnancy” for Bathsheba, and once David was faced with this dilemma, he had to contrive a plan to cover up the fact that this baby was his. It’s interesting to note that his fatal flaw of sexual sin led him into areas where I’m sure he never would have guessed he was capable of going.
First, it led David into deception, trying to trick Uriah into sleeping with Bathsheba so she could claim the baby was Uriah’s. Here was this great king, the anointed of God, stooping to such deception. Obviously at this point he had no concern for Bathsheba or his baby which she was carrying. All he could think of was trying to keep himself from being implicated as an adulterer.
When his deception didn’t work, David’s fatal flaw then led him to something even worse—planning and carrying out the murder of Uriah, so that he could legally marry Bathsheba. Who could ever believe that David, the man after God’s own heart, could do such a treacherous thing? But, you see, his fatal flaw, left unchecked through all those years, took him down that horrible path, one thing leading to another. Fatal flaws that are not recognized and dealt with will do exactly that—lead you step-by-step down a path of destruction.
How many of us are allowing a fatal flaw in our life to continue, thinking that we can control it? Maybe it’s the same fatal flaw that David had—lust and an uncontrolled sexual drive—but you think you can keep it at the hidden level it now is. Don’t be deceived; if you don’t face it and deal with it biblically, like David it will lead you further and further into sin, until you won’t believe what you’re capable of doing.
As a result of his fatal flaw, David’s wonderful reign as King over Israel was marred and disgraced. He lost the child that was born to Bathsheba, his son Absalom turned against him and tried to kill him, and because of his example, his son Solomon was besieged with the same fatal flaw.
We know that God forgave David, as he graciously forgives all of us. But just think of the difference it would have made in the life of David had he been warned early-on about this fatal flaw. Suppose that as a young man someone had pointed out to him how unbridled sexual desires could ruin him, and given him good advice on how to bring that fatal flaw under control. Then, when David saw Bathsheba, he would have had the wisdom and the power to overcome the temptation and not be destroyed by his fatal flaw. Don’t you think, if David had it to do over again, he would make sure that his fatal flaw was under control?
Another man of God with a fatal flaw was Samson. He was incredibly gifted by God, both physically and mentally, and was used mightily to rescue God’s people. But he had two areas that got him into trouble. Samson also had the fatal flaw of sexual attraction, as David did. Frankly, we see this all around us, don’t we? How many homes have been destroyed, churches devastated because of a leader’s fatal flaw in this area? When the fatal flaw of sexual immorality gets a grip on your life, it is very difficult to extricate yourself.
Samson’s other fatal flaw was that he refused to listen to advice or to be accountable. His parents strongly urged him not to associate with women from other countries. Furthermore, he knew it was against Jewish law to marry a non-believer. But he didn’t listen to his parents and he refused to be governed by the laws of his people. That was a fatal flaw for Samson.
This fatal flaw led him to reveal the secret of his strength to his traitor-lover, Delilah, and because of that he was captured, blinded and imprisoned. This great hulk of a man, endowed by God with incredible physical strength, was tied with shackles and made to grind in the prison.
God still used him, but it was through much misery and pain on his part. As his hair grew back, his strength returned and he was able to destroy the temple of his enemies. But in doing so, he brought the temple down on himself and he was killed as well.
As we see in each of these examples, God still uses people with fatal flaws. But their effectiveness is greatly diminished because they refused to face their fatal flaw and allow God to deliver them. They allowed their fatal flaw to grow instead of gaining victory over it in the early stages.
Unwillingness to take counsel or be accountable is a fatal flaw for many people. I think of a pastor in a large, growing church who refused any accountability or advice, and now the church is dying and his ministry greatly damaged. I think of a president of a company who refused to listen to his employees, to take any advice, or to see things any way except his way. He really is a very smart man, with lots of good business sense, but he refused to listen to anyone else. It wasn’t long before he found himself looking for a new job.
Check it out for yourself; if you have a tendency to reject advice and rebel against accountability, it will prove very costly for you unless you bring it under control. And remember that the longer you postpone dealing with your fatal flaw, the more difficult it will be to deal with it.
Do you remember Ananias and Sapphira? They had a fatal flaw which is very common today: greed. You remember the story as found in Acts 5. They sold a piece of property, kept part of the profit for themselves, and took the remainder to the apostles for the work of the Lord. But they told Peter and the others that they were giving God all their profit.
They lied to God because of greed. They wanted some of the money for themselves, but they wanted to appear to be very generous. Now, their fatal flaw resulted in a very dramatic and immediate disaster: they both dropped dead on the spot. Rarely do fatal flaws have such an obvious effect, but the devastation they cause us is just as deadly as it was for Ananias and Sapphira.
Greed has led many well-intentioned people down the wrong road. We aren’t given a lot of details about Ananias and Sapphira, but I have to believe they were people in good standing with the early church, people who really loved the Lord and wanted to serve him. But when it came to their money, it was difficult for them to part with it. Money became more important to them than honesty and integrity. Money became more important than the work of the Lord.
The power of money to control our minds and our actions is extremely strong. Jesus told us that money is a god which many people worship and to which many are enslaved. Ananias and Sapphira are striking examples of Jesus’ warning that you cannot serve God and money. They were trying to serve both, and it didn’t work for them.
It won’t work for us, either. It can start so small and innocently, this fatal flaw of greed. Like all other fatal flaws, it can be handled in the early stages, but once it’s allowed to grow, it’s very difficult to bring it under control. What a terrible price we pay when we allow our materialistic desires and the love of money to control our lives.
I remember one New Year when I had some of my closest friends to my home for our annual New Year’s Day get-together. About a dozen of us sat around the table answering the question, “What do you want God to do for you in the New Year?” I was so blessed to hear their answers, for not one of them made the slightest reference to material needs. Not that they didn’t have them, but the focus was not on money or things. They talked instead of wanting to be filled with God’s love, to be kinder and more patient, less critical and more compassionate, and such things as that.
But when greed is your fatal flaw, that’s not where your mind is. You are obsessed with the gaining of money and things, bank accounts and stocks and bonds, retirement and savings. Check it out for yourself: have you allowed greed and money to become a fatal flaw? If so, I would encourage you to go to God for deliverance.
